


Over the Edge

by IJM



Category: General Hospital
Genre: Emotional triggers, Gen, PTSD Triggers, Violence, unethical behavior
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-04
Updated: 2018-10-01
Packaged: 2019-06-21 15:12:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 20
Words: 26,793
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15560535
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IJM/pseuds/IJM
Summary: When therapy causes more harm than good.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Not for profit. No claim of ownership of characters.

Franco was sketching abstract shapes. He turned to the canvas when he didn’t know how or to whom to express himself. He had been seeing Kevin for months, but but things were changing. Less than a year ago, Kevin was helping him find confidence in who he really was. Kevin had championed him as a good person who had survived some very bad things and done some bad things based on indisputable medical issues.

Something was different now. He didn’t know what he had done, but Kevin was questioning his motives. He kept asking Franco to describe every memory of Jim Harvey’s abuse. Kevin told him he had to express what happened to let it go. Franco wasn’t comfortable expressing everything. He was starting to feel like his childhood was being turned into a script for an episode of Law and Order: SVU.

He didn’t like how he felt when Kevin pressured him to talk about Jim. He would ask if they could talk about something else, like how he was settling into married life, or how he felt about being a stepfather now. But Kevin kept going back to Jim, kept telling him talking was the only way to free himself of the past. If Franco looked at it objectively, or at least tried to, it seemed like Kevin was taking pleasure in hearing how the man had used him. He felt sick and like he had been violated again after every session. 

On rare occasions when Kevin dropped the subject of Jim Harvey, he wanted Franco to discuss his murderous past, the one he wanted to forget, to move on from. It didn’t feel right. Kevin was too interested in the details that he was trying to forget.

His alarm on his phone chimed. It was time for therapy. He turned off the alarm and decided he would just skip today. He felt much safer here in the art therapy room where no one was picking through the darkest parts of his mind.

Within five minutes, Kevin was at his door. “You’re late,” he pronounced.

Franco looked up at the man he used to trust. “I meant to text you. I can’t make it today.”

“We both know that’s a lie,” Kevin said. He closed the door and sat at the table with Franco. “May I?” he asked, reaching for the sketch.

Hesitantly, Franco allowed Kevin take the paper. His impulse was to leave.

“There’s a lot going on here,” Kevin said. “Confusion, pain, anger, doubt.”

Franco exhaled. “Doodles.”

“I don’t think so,” Kevin said. “There’s conflict. The pieces are at war with each other like the pieces of your fragmented mind.”

“My mind isn’t fragmented,” Franco said timidly. Who was he to argue with a doctor?

“What do you think we’ve been working on for the last year?” Kevin asked.

Franco looked down and swallowed. He felt like there was a lump in his throat. He couldn’t defend himself.

Kevin pointed to one of the figures, “You have unexpressed darkness in you.”

“This is how I express it.”

“For how long?” Kevin asked.

“What do you mean?”

“How long will paint and charcoal be enough? How long until you have to find a living canvas to make a true masterpiece?”

Franco shook his head. “I don’t need that. I don’t want that. That’s not who I am.”

Kevin sighed. “People rarely change for the better.”

“Well, I am one of those people,” Franco said. “You told me that yourself. You said you believed in me. You said I was a good person who had been through extraordinary circumstances.”

“Look how upset you are,” Kevin said. “Do you want to hurt me right now?”

“No. I just want you to shut up.”

“How would you shut me up?” Kevin goaded him.

Franco felt like he was spiraling. “I - I- I’ll leave. I don’t want to talk to you anymore.” But he remained  frozen in place, too overwhelmed by what Kevin was saying.

“I’ve been studying cases like yours. Many serial killers were sexually abused as children. They suffered the way you did and turned their darkness on other people because they learned to not trust anyone. They learned to hate and to hurt others.”

“That’s not me,” Franco argued quietly.

“One day, you’ll snap and you’ll go back to hurting people to deal with your pain.”

“I thought I was talking to you to deal with my pain.”

“You’ve been through too much. I can’t really help you. The only person who can stop you is you.” Kevin dropped the last words like a bomb and left.

Franco felt like he couldn’t breathe, like his world was collapsing. Kevin was his doctor, the person who made him believe that the person he wanted to be, that the person Elizabeth saw, was who he really was.

He wiped his brow, trying to think of what he had done to change Kevin’s opinion. His mind was racing, as was his heartbeat. What if Kevin was right? What if he was going to snap and turn on someone, maybe even someone he loved?

Since Kevin had been coercing him to talk more and more about details from his past, he felt more and more trapped within them. He found that certain things would trigger memories that he couldn’t express to anyone else. He couldn’t play video games with the boys because of the violence. He couldn’t watch crime shows or murder mysteries with Elizabeth.

Kevin was right. He was drowning. He was fractured. He was a danger to his loved ones. It was just a matter of time.

He stared at the abstract drawings. There was conflict and sadness and rage. It was creeping into his being again. He knew he had to stop it. He had to stop it before he hurt someone he cared about.

He grabbed another blank sheet of paper and scribbled a quick note.

“Elizabeth, I’m sorry. I love you with all my heart. I love the boys and Kiki. But Kevin thinks I’m going to become what I was again and I can’t do that to you or anyone else. I have to die to keep you safe. I wanted forever for us. Kevin said that considering what Jim Harvey did and the tumor, he no longer believes I can stay on this path. I’m going to get sick again. I have to save you and I can only do that by drastic measures. I love you forever, Franco.”

In places, the ink was running mixed with his teardrops, but he folded the paper and wrote Elizabeth’s name on it. He had to act fast. He couldn’t become who he was.

He quickly surveyed the supplies in the room. He saw exactly what he needed. One of the tools of the trade was a razor with the protective handle that could be used to remove spills from hard surfaces. He always kept his tools clean, not that it really mattered. What, was he going to get an infection? Not if he did it the right way.

He held the tool in his right hand and looked at his left arm. He stroked his wrist. Most people would try to make a crossways slit. That was woefully ineffective.

He pressed the edge of the blade to the center of his wrist. A bit of light sparkled off his wedding band. He had vowed to protect Elizabeth and this was what he had to do. He took a deep breath, clinched his first, sunk the blade into the center of his wrist and methodically moved it toward his elbow. Blood was spurting from his arm with in seconds.

It was more difficult to control the blade with his left hand when his arm was spilling the life out of him. With the shaking hand, he brought the blade to his right wrist and found what strength he could to force it into his flesh. He was lightheaded. He was unable to make a proper long cut on his arm before he dropped the blade in weakness in the world went dark.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

“How about lunch with Franco?” Kiki asked Elizabeth who was working at the nurses’ station organizing charts.

“I think he’s with Kevin,” Elizabeth said.

“No, I saw Dr. Collins in his office when I passed by a few minutes ago. The door was open and no one was with him.”

“Franco never turns down lunch with his favorite girls,” Elizabeth laughed. “You two decide where we’re going and I’ll be in in a few minutes. I just need to finish a couple of things.”

Kiki nodded. She was smiling as she neared the art therapy room. It brought her so much joy to spend time with Franco and Elizabeth while “on the job.”

“Franco, she called his name as she opened the door. She screamed his name when she saw him, slumped over the table blood everywhere. “Help!“ she screamed. She pushed the panic button that all therapy rooms were equipped with and an alarm sounded. She used a drop cloth to try to stop the bleeding and find the wounds. She saw his left arm was in worse shape, so she grabbed the first thing that was that looked useful - packaging tape. She started winding it around his arm to stop the blood flow.

By that time emergency personnel had made it to the therapy room. “I think he tried to commit suicide!” She yelled at the guard. “I need a gurney now! Page whoever is in the ER.”

Elizabeth was standing in the doorway and heard Kiki’s words. Her mouth was agape. She couldn’t fathom what she was seeing. Kiki had finished binding the wound on his left arm and was closing the one on his right arm as best as she could. 

Elizabeth screamed and fell to her knees. She was incapacitated. Within seconds Lucas and Epiphany were both in the room. Epiphany hugged Elizabeth, pulling her to her feet and turning her away from the sight of her husband, motionless, being put on a stretcher while Lucas called out orders.

It’s okay. It’s going to be okay,” Epiphany tried to tell Elizabeth. “Treatment room six,” Epiphany told Lucas indicating an open room. 

“Stay here,” Lucas told Elizabeth on the way out. Emotional family members always made treating an emergency patient more difficult.

Lucas and Kiki raced out of the room with Franco with some assisting personnel as Elizabeth sobbed, clinging to Epiphany. “Why?” she asked. “Why would he do this? I thought he was happy. We ARE happy,” she stressed. Her mind raced, trying to find the clue she had missed that he was getting into this mind space. 

“Baby, don’t look at the mess. He left a note. I’m going to get it. Do not turn around and that’s an order.”

Elizabeth leaned against the wall sobbing. “I can’t lose him!” she choked out as she gasped for air.

Epiphany handed Elizabeth the note.

Elizabeth didn’t seem to know what to do with it. “What treatment room?” she asked.

“Let them work. Stay with me,” Epiphany told her.

Elizabeth handed her the note. “I can’t – can’t read it.” Before she realized what was happening, Monica was in the room with her.

Monica had been shocked to hear that one of her staff members had apparently attempted suicide on the job. She entered the room, saw Elizabeth was in a state of complete shock and Epiphany was holding the note.

“I can’t read it,” Elizabeth repeated. “Why did he do this?” Her lips were quivering. In fact, her whole body was shaking.

Monica was shocked by the blood on the table, floor, and the spatter on various other pieces of furniture and the wall. This was not a cry for help. This was an intentional attempt to end a life. Monica took the note and put her hand on Elizabeth’s back. “Let’s go to my office,” she said.

“I have to check on Franco,” Elizabeth said weakly.

”They’ll call us,” Monica said. “Epiphany, go be with Franco. Tell him I’m going to personally kick his ass for scaring everyone like this.” She assumed that Franco was currently being stitched up and getting blood transfusions.

“He could die,” Elizabeth whispered. Her voice was soft and she was barely blinking her eyes.

“Elizabeth, you’re in shock. We’re going to find out what’s going on. We’re going to help him. We’re going to help both of you.”

Elizabeth barely registered the walk to Monica’s office. Monica led her to sit down and gave her a bottle of water which she just held, but did not open.

“Do you want me to read the note?” Monica asked.

Elizabeth nodded. She listened as Monica read Franco’s words: his last thoughts before injuring himself.

They were both shocked by the content of the note.

“That doesn’t make sense,” Elizabeth said. “Kevin is the person who helped me convince Franco he was going to be all right, that Jim Harvey was in the past. The tumor was in the past. I don’t understand.” 

Monica looked confused as well. “Jim Harvey, the real estate developer?” she asked. “I don’t understand.”

Elizabeth shut her eyes, trying to block out the world. “He was a horrible man,” she said. She felt like she was betraying Franco, but she had to get him the help he needed, which obviously was not Kevin Collins.

“He was involved with Betsy, Franco‘s mother, the one that raised him. He abused Franco – badly, starting around the time the boys were three years old. He began with Franco and Franco realized he was going to do the same things to Drew so he tried to get Drew to hide, but he wouldn’t. So Franco accidentally pushed Drew down the stairs.  He knew Drew would not be safe if Harvey found both of them, but when they did find the boys, Harvey said Franco did it on purpose. Betsy had the boys illegally. She believed that son of a bitch when he blamed Franco, so she sent Drew to a group home.“

Elizabeth looked at Monica for the first time since starting the story.  “She sent Drew away, but let Jim stay for several years. No child should ever have to endure what Franco went through.”

“I didn’t know,” Monica said, her voice showing genuine sympathy. “I take it Drew knows?” She had wondered what shifted the dynamics between Drew and Franco to the point that he had been Franco’s best man. All he would ever tell her was, “Things change.” 

Elizabeth nodded. “Betsy told him that Franco was trying to save him from Jim Harvey.“ Elizabeth’s eyes were still filled with tears, but she was beginning to feel more clarity. “I don’t understand why Kevin is backtracking. He helped Franco remember what happened. He was completely supportive. He told him that the tumor made him unable to control his actions which we all know is true. Why did he change his mind?“

“That’s not ethical therapy at all,” Monica commented. “Let’s see what’s going on. I happen to be able to access any computer in this hospital.”

With a few keystrokes, she was going through files on Kevin’s hard drive and cloud. “I found some files on Franco. In this situation, do you give me permission to break the confidentiality?”

Elizabeth had Franco’s power of attorney, just as he had hers. Working in a hospital made them both aware of the importance of a spouse being able to make decisions if necessary. “Yes, of course,” Elizabeth said. “Kevin is responsible for this. He knows how much Franco doubts himself. Between Jim’s abuse and manipulation and Betsy’s constantly changing stories, Franco doesn’t trust many people. Kevin was one of the few he did trust.”

“I’m going to read every word Kevin has noted about Franco. It will take a while. Honey, go check on your husband.”

Elizabeth nodded. Without thinking about her steps, she found herself walking by the art therapy room. Detectives Chase and Spencer had the room taped off as a crime scene and were investigating. She walked on by. Was attempting suicide crime? Did they think someone had done this to him? She guessed they had to rule that out.

She found treatment room six and steadied herself, not sure about what she would find when she opened the door.


	3. Chapter 3

When Elizabeth opened the door, Kiki enveloped her in a hug. Lucas and Epiphany were monitoring activity. Elizabeth sighed with relief when she heard the rhythmic beat of a heart monitor. He was alive. He was still alive.

Elizabeth didn’t say anything, but she turned to Lucas. He took her hand. “Kiki saved his life,” he said. Elizabeth heard Kiki take a deep breath. “This was no half-assed attempt.  I can’t tell you what triggered this, but he knew exactly what he was doing. I’m ordering an MRI given his history of a brain tumor. I don’t want to alarm you anymore than you already are, but if a tumor is growing, it could lead to some impulsive, irrational decisions like this.”

“Kevin,” Elizabeth stated.

“Oh, right. We should call him,” Kiki said. 

“No!” Elizabeth almost yelled. “He caused this. He convinced Franco he was a danger to me and everyone he loved. He tried to kill himself so he could keep us safe.”

Lucas and Kiki were both visibly shaken. “But he helped Franco so much,” Kiki said.

“Monica is trying to figure out what happened,” Elizabeth told them. “Don’t tell Kevin that we know he’s responsible. If anyone asks, there was no note.”

Everyone in the room nodded to indicate they understood.

Elizabeth approached the bed. She saw a bag of blood hanging where he was getting a transfusion to replace what he had lost. There was also a bag of antibiotics flowing into the transfusion line. 

“I’m so mad at you!” she yelled. “Why would you do this to me? Why do you listen to other people who tell you that you’re not good enough or that you’re going to hurt somebody? Listen to ME! Listen to Kiki. Listen to the boys. We are your family. We are the ones who matter. We love you. We know who you really are.” 

She started crying. “I’m sorry. I love you. I love you so much! I know; I know how much people you trusted have lied to, manipulated, and abused you. It just doesn’t heal, does it?” she sobbed. “How can I help you get better? You’re never going to see yourself the way I do. You have to move past what they did to you,” she begged. “At least let me in when it’s overwhelming.” 

Kiki squeezed Elizabeth’s shoulders in a show of support.

”You idiot! Why didn’t you tell me what Kevin was saying to you?” Elizabeth’s emotions were swinging from one extreme to another. “Marriage is not 50-50. It’s 100-100. We both have to give everything we’ve got to each other – the good, the bad, the leftover pizza for breakfast. What am I supposed to tell the boys? What if they think you didn’t love them enough to live? How do I explain that? Especially to Jake who looks up to you like no one else in his life.” She laid her head on the bed crying again.

“I don’t know why Kevin drove you to do this. But I’m going to find out. Monica is working on it. And, by the way, she’s going to kick your ass for trying to kill yourself on the job. Now PR is having to make statements to journalists from TV, Internet, radio. Don’t worry. They can’t identify you as a patient. But anyone who walks by the art therapy room can certainly figure it out since it’s taped off and looks like a slasher movie was being filmed.” 

Kiki rubbed Elizabeth’s back. She had her own pent up emotions right now, but she had to remain in medical student mode.

“I’ll be back soon,” Lucas told them. “I have to do some rounds. If anything changes, page me immediately.” He patted Elizabeth’s hand and she nodded.

As Lucas left, Drew walked in.  Epiphany also made her exit since it was clear Kiki would not leave Franco’s side.

“What the hell happened?” Drew asked.

Elizabeth looked up, grateful to see him. Her tears were spent. She shook her head, “I can’t,” she told him. “Oh, God. Has anyone called Scotty?” she asked.

“I’ll do that now,” Kiki offered, realizing their glaring oversight. She stepped outside of the room for a minute to make the call and returned to tell them that Scotty was on his way.

“The kids!” Elizabeth said, distraught. 

“They are at the Quartermaines’.”  Drew told her. “I picked them up from school and took them home with me.”

“What do they know?” she asked.

“They know Olivia is making an Italian feast for supper because we gave Cook 3 the night off.”

“Thank you,” Elizabeth said. She held Franco’s hand, though he was, unfortunately, restrained to the bed as was standard procedure with a suicidal patient.

“Is he okay?” Drew asked. It looked like he had certainly done some damage to himself based on the way his arms were bandaged.

“Physically, he’ll get there,” Kiki offered, realizing Elizabeth was too upset it to answer questions.

“Because of you,” Elizabeth said to Kiki. “You saved his life. I can never thank you enough.”

Kiki tried to smile, but she was fighting back her own tears. The adrenaline rush of the emergency was wearing off and it was starting to dawn on her exactly what had happened and what could have happened.

Drew wanted to ask if they knew why Franco had done this, but he realized both Elizabeth and Kiki were too upset to go over it again. He also knew Scotty would be arriving soon enough with his own questions.

Epiphany returned. “We have a regular room ready,” she told them. “We can move him since he has stabilized.” She began to undo the heart monitor since the patient room would have one in it. Kiki took the initiative to guide the IV pole for the blood transfusion while Drew helped push the bed through the hallway.

Elizabeth felt as if everyone they passed were judging them as they moved toward the elevator. She was relieved when the doors closed and they were taken to the 12th floor where psychiatric patients were kept under heavy security and surveillance.

She didn’t work this floor very often. She had not liked her rounds on the psychiatric rotation as a student. Elizabeth was better equipped to consistently deal with patients who had clear physical problems. These patients and their situations made her heart hurt. She wanted to help, even if she didn’t know how - none more so than the man she loved.


	4. Chapter 4

Hours had passed since Franco had been moved to a private secure room. The loss of blood had left him unconscious for a while and Lucas had prescribed a combination of antibiotics, pain medication, and Depakote as a mood stabilizer. He had been quite careful with what he prescribed based on Franco‘s history and available research. 

Scotty had visited briefly. He had been very upset to find out what had happened and even more upset to find out Kevin was responsible. Elizabeth and Drew agreed that Scotty could best help by getting the boys home and staying the night with them. 

Kevin must have left the hospital soon after his session with Franco. They suspected he got out when he heard what happened, so he would not be approached about it.

Monica came into the room with both Jordan Ashford and Anna Devane. Elizabeth, Kiki, and Drew were all surprised to see anyone other than Monica. The two ladies said hello politely and waited for Monica to explain things.

“What’s going on?” Drew asked, the first to find his voice.

Monica was pale. She held a stack of printed pages that could have easily made two books. “We have a major emergency situation,” she started.

“WSB?” Elizabeth asked, looking to Anna.

“WSB,” Anna repeated.

“I don’t understand,” Elizabeth said. “Kevin obviously has some ethical issues, but –“

“It’s not Kevin,” Monica stated flatly.

“What?” Kiki asked. “I just saw Kevin in his office today.”

“Oh, dear God,” Elizabeth gasped, putting the pieces together.

“I am lost here too,” Drew said.

“Ryan Chamberlain,” Elizabeth said. Neither Kiki nor Drew recognized the name.

“Ryan Chamberlain is Kevin’s twin brother who was a serial killer,” Anna explained. “We thought he was dead.”

“Another dead twin rises from the grave?” Drew asked skeptically.

“Everything I’ve read indicates that,” Monica told them.

“We have some issues,” Jordan added. “First and foremost, we believe Kevin, the real Kevin Collins, is being held against his will. We can’t let Ryan know we are on the trail. We have to entrap Ryan before he knows we know who he really is, so that Kevin isn’t killed.”

“Ryan is a homicidal maniac,” Anna told them. She gave them a brief history of his crimes.

“Why is he pretending to be Kevin?” Drew asked.

“In addition to being free, he is targeting Kevin’s patients,” Monica said. “He still wants to see people die, but he is sabotaging therapy and pushing patients like Franco towards suicide.”

“Who the hell does that?” Drew asked, disgusted. “He’s only trying to get better and to live a normal life.”

Monica looked to Elizabeth. “This is where things get really sticky. I have notes Ryan has been making. Had Kevin made these notes, they would be protected legally from anyone being able to access them. Ryan isn’t a psychiatrist so it voids the law. But, Franco, in good faith believed Ryan was Kevin and that he was in a safe, confidential environment.”

“No,” Elizabeth said. “There’s no way in hell you’re making those notes public. Have you shown them to Jordan and Anna?”

“I have not,” Monica told her. “I need to speak to Franco about his situation. Ryan has been sabotaging other patients, but he’s been particularly obsessed with Franco due to... circumstances.”

“Franco thought everything he said was confidential,“ Elizabeth reminded her.

“I know. That’s why I need to speak to him when he’s alert. Until then, I wanted to let you know that the PCPD and WSB are on this case. There are undercover officers on this floor. Franco should not be left unattended because Ryan may try to finish his project.”

”I am staying right here until he’s caught,” Drew told them. “If you’ll bring my weapon from home, I’ll take care of him on the spot,” he told Monica.

“No,” Anna said. “That’s exactly what cannot happen. Remember, the real Kevin’s life is also in danger. We really need to learn as much as we can from Franco when he is alert.”

“He’s alert,” Franco mumbled. “Sort of.”


	5. Chapter 5

“He’s alert,” Franco mumbled. “Sort of.”

Elizabeth rushed to him. “Don’t you EVER pull a stunt like that again. And I love you.” 

“Too damaged to help.” His words were slurred and his eyelids opened and closed as he fought the combined effects of blood loss, medication, and confusion. 

Monica approached him. “Franco, I’m glad you’re still with us.”

”Liar,” he responded. 

“I’m not lying,” Monica told him. “What you do here is important. My grandson adores you. Also, you are a patient and you have been a victim of severe malpractice.”

”Huh?” he grunted. Even groggy, he knew a chief of staff would never just admit to malpractice. 

“Kevin is missing,” Elizabeth started. 

“I don’t like Kevin,” Franco quickly responded to the mention of his name. “He used to help me feel better. Now, he makes me feel worse. I don’t know what I did wrong.” 

“You haven’t done anything wrong.” Monica assured him. “Kevin has a twin brother—“

”Ryan?” Franco filled in. “Dead psycho?” 

“So you know about Ryan?”

He nodded.

”It’s become obvious that Ryan is not dead and he’s been masquerading as Kevin for months. He’s purposefully sabotaging all the progress you had made with Kevin. You are a project to him. I have a draft of a book he’s been writing about you, your life, your progress, and his ultimate goal to destroy you, or as he titled the book, to push you  _Over the Edge_ _._ He has used every weapon he had to drive you to do exactly what you did today — try to take your own life.”

Franco made a sound that could be interpreted as, “Why?”

”Look, Anna Devane and Jordan Ashford are with me. I can ask them to leave the room so I can explain why he was particularly interested in you.”

”Oh, fuck it, let them stay,” he said, still lacking his profession filter. “I guess I earned my whackadoodle leputation... that’s not right... reputation back today.” He corrected his misspoken word. 

Elizabeth tried to not giggle at his cursing and generally speaking to their boss this way. 

“If they stay, will it help Real Kevin?” He pulled against the restraints on his arms. 

“I think the more informed they are about Ryan’s mind, the more prepared they will be to deal with him and the threats he poses.” 

Franco made eye contact with Anna and said her name.

”Yes, Franco?” she responded.

”I have to tell you something.”

She leaned toward him, thinking he was going to whisper something. 

“I’ve got problems!” he announced.

”Are you sure he’s lucid enough to make a statement?” Jordan asked, not wanting the entire case to be dismissed on a technicality. 

“The story isn’t going to change,” Elizabeth told them. “Hey,” she said, rubbing his hand. “Do you realize you’re speaking with the chief of staff and law enforcement?” 

He looked over and saw Drew standing quietly, arms crossed. “It’s Andy!” he exclaimed. “He was there. Andy’s my twin brother. But he’s the good twin and I’m the evil twin.” 

“You are not evil,” Drew corrected him. “In fact, you’re the good twin.”

”You love me,” Franco was still slurring his speech.

”I don’t think this is going to hold up,” Jordan cautioned. Elizabeth and Kiki were trying desperately to not laugh. 

“I think your blood sugar or blood count to joy juice ratio is out of proportion,” Drew commented. 

Franco nodded. 

“I will go get something for us to eat since you are surrounded by women who carry guns. These pretty ladies are going to take care of you.”

Franco looked from one face to another. Kiki, Elizabeth, Anna, Monica, and Jordan were left. “Hey, he’s right. You’re all so pretty. I should paint your portraits. You’re the prettiest,” he said, locking eyes with Elizabeth who blushed. “You should be draped in fur, but not real fur because that’s cruel and you’re kind. You could be a tigress: prowling, pouncing, playing...”

Elizabeth’s blush deepened. “Darling, let’s talk about something else.” 

He looked at the group of women again. They were all amused and trying to hide it. “Anna!” he exclaimed. 

Anna wondered why he seemed to take a particular interest in her. “Yes?”

”Have you met my Kiki?” 

“Yes, I have met Kiki. She’s a very  intelligent and brave young lady.”

”She’s my baby girl and no one will ever hurt her on my watch. But, if they do, you shoot ‘em. ‘Cause I know you got a gun.” 

Kiki kissed his cheek. “I’m so glad you’re going to be okay.” 

“So are you,” he told her. 

“I think Drew was right about the blood count/blood sugar issue. He gets a little goofy when his blood sugar is low. He’ll be more himself after he eats.”

”We can wait,” Jordan told her. “This is, by far, the most important thing we are dealing with right now.”

”Pretty, pretty tiger,” he called to Elizabeth. 

“Yes?” She asked, in combination of amusement and embarrassment.

”Did you tie me to the bed?” 

“No. I did not.” Elizabeth answered, cracking up. “You are high as a kite.”

Elizabeth’s laughter seemed to give the other women the impetus they needed to also laugh at his statements. “You all do realize he’s high, right?” 

“Nothing wrong with a little adventure,” Jordan teased. She started humming, “The Lion Sleeps Tonight.”

”Eww,” Kiki protested. “I’m going to have to bleach my mind’s eye. Don’t talk about him like that. You’re traumatizing me.” She had had candid conversations with him before, but about her sex life, not his. 

“I think that man is madly in love with you,” Anna told Elizabeth. 

“He is. But he won’t listen to me.”

”It’s a genetic predisposition,” Monica told her. “It’s carried on the Y chromosome.” 

“Doc’s calling it like it is,” Jordan agreed. “Fathers, brothers, uncles, nephews, husbands, sons... all stubborn as a mule.”

”I was gone twenty minutes and that was enough time to descend into man-bashing?” Drew asked, hearing Jordan’s statement as he pushed the door open. He had two pizza boxes and a case of soda. “Well, the fun is over. We take pizza very seriously.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the encouraging comments. I had to add a little humor because Franco can do both humor and drama so well. Soon, back to the drama. I’m going to regret staying up late to post this. I hope you have some fun with this part.


	6. Chapter 6

Franco was much more focused and alert after he ate. His blood pressure had improved to “almost within the living range” according to Kiki and his blood sugar was registering in the low normal range.

”How long am I going to be punished?” he asked. Monica had allowed his restraints to be removed so that he could eat, but they had just been put back.

”It’s not punishment. You’re on a psychiatric hold. It’s for your own safety.”

He looked at Monica and the stack of papers she had left on the bed. “I don’t feel safe. Considering you’ve read Kevin/Ryan’s entire history of my case, I would think you’d understand that. Can’t you make an exception?” He was much more coherent thanks to the increase in blood volume, his pain medication wearing off, and having eaten. 

Monica sighed, “I suppose your history does contraindicate using restraints.” 

Drew was particularly disturbed hearing this. He could not help but think he could have also grown up emotionally unstable with suicidal ideation. “I’m here all night. I won’t let him hurt himself.” 

Monica felt she had to grant the request. “Okay. We’ll make an exception. This is certainly an exceptional case.” 

“Thank you,” Franco said when he was able to move his arms again. He folded them over his chest, clearly uncomfortable with the situation. “I’m a little fuzzy. I think I’m a little more awake than I was when you came in earlier.”

”We never left,” Kiki told him.

”Oh, and there’s that.” 

“How are you feeling?” Elizabeth asked. “You seem depressed.”

”Sober,” he answered. “I was kind of in a twilight that wasn’t quite real and now I am realizing that it was real and what a moron I am for trusting Ryan/Kevin. I told him almost everything he wanted to know, even when I didn’t want to.” 

“You’re not a moron,” Monica assured him. “There are plenty of people in this room who have not realized a twin was the other one.”

“If you can help us get inside Ryan’s mind, I think it will help us save Kevin,” Anna added. “If Kevin is alive.” 

“I’m not sure I can help, but I’ll try— at great expense to my privacy.” He looked at Kiki and reached his hand out for her to take. “I’ve kept something important from you. I didn’t want you to worry about me while you’re in school or while you were dealing with that perverted creep.”

”What is it?” she asked, her expression showed that she was bracing for something that would be painful for both of them. 

“When I was really young, Jim Harvey was my mother’s boyfriend.” He dropped his gaze, unable to look in her eyes. “He...” Franco tried to find the clearest, yet least direct way to tell her the truth. “He spent more time in my bed than hers.”

”Oh, god,” her eyes filled with tears, thinking of how Dr. Bensch has made her feel and multiplying it to infinity. “I wish you would have told me.”

”I want to protect you from all the bad, ugly things in the world.” 

“I know. You always try to protect the people you love.”

”Sometimes in not the best ways,” he admitted.

”I’m sorry.” She squeezed his hand.

He shrugged. “I wasn’t his first victim and I wasn’t his last. But from what I could piece together, he spent the longest time with me and I have to admit he left a lot of damage.”

”I wish I could say I’m surprised, but it actually makes a lot of sense.”

”I guess it does,” Franco sighed. 

“I’m sorry any child has to go through that,” Monica told him. “I’m sorry Ryan has used it to torment you to this point, especially under my watch. Did you notice a change? If so, can you estimate at what point?” 

“Before the wedding. Maybe around the time he got back from Europe. He seemed different. He started digging more. He wanted details of every incident I remembered. That felt weird, invasive, just not right. When we worked through hypnosis, and I started to remember repressed experiences, he talked about getting through the emotions. If I was extremely distressed, he would end the session. 

“He actually started fueling my anxiety and distress by focusing on the memories, not the emotional pain. He said I was at a place where I needed to speak the truth out loud so I could conquer it. It kind of made sense, but I always ended feeling worse. I felt like—“ he stopped, leaving the sentence hanging. 

“How did you feel?” Elizabeth encouraged him to finish his thought.

“I felt like he was kind of taking some kind of pleasure from what I told him. That’s really sick, isn’t it?” 

“Ryan Chamberlain is really sick,” Anna reminded him. 

“I didn’t want to talk to him anymore, so I canceled some sessions. Like today. But he came and found me. He told me I was too damaged to be helped. He said I was the only one who could stop me from becoming dangerous again. My history worked against me.”

”Were there any other times you thought he was pushing you toward suicide?” Jordan asked. 

“I didn’t see it that way at the time, but he started bringing it up as a concern even though I don’t think I gave him a reason to. I had to rate depression symptoms all the time, but he did start accentuating things like if I thought about hurting myself or taking my life or if I believed I deserved to die, if I was a danger to myself or anyone else, how would I kill myself if I were to try. He told me to stay away from guns which was actually kind of stupid because we don’t have a gun in the house with the kids. He also told me men were more likely than women to be successful with a suicide attempt.” 

“So he was pushing this idea when you had not expressed that urge at all?” Anna asked for clarity.

He nodded. “I told him I thought therapy was making me more depressed instead of better. I asked if I needed to take something and he said it was a bad idea because I had a tumor and it could come back.” 

“He could have written a prescription, he would just have to consider the options carefully,” Monica informed him. “Dr. Jones has started you on Depakote because it’s been widely researched as a mood stabilizer and is also an anticonvulsant, which would help prevent seizures that another medication might cause.”

”Oh!” Franco realized he had forgotten something that could be important. “He said if I wanted to get away and be alone he has a cabin in Massachusetts that I could use. He said I could be alone on a lake with nature and my thoughts, even after I told him I was becoming more depressed.”

”And a secluded lakeside cabin would be a great place to commit suicide,” Elizabeth filled in, restraining the anger that was building inside her.

”Do you know what lake?” Anna asked. 

“I think he said Berkshire, but I wasn’t interested so I wasn’t listening closely. I don’t know if that’s a lake or a town.” 

“That is a fantastic lead!” Anna told him. “I’ll get the WSB, FBI, and the Massachusetts authorities involved in checking out properties that might be in his or an associated name.” 

Elizabeth saw that her husband was distressed. He was rapidly looking up and down and side to side, trying to stave off an emotional reaction. “I think he’s told you all he can,” she said sternly. “He’s cooperated fully, against his own best interest. Could you all go now?”

Jordan and Anna expressed their gratitude before saying goodbye. They both wished him a full recovery and left. Monica, however, stayed behind.

 

 


	7. Chapter 7

Franco inhaled deeply when they left, trying to quell his emotions. 

“Talk to me,” Elizabeth encouraged him, holding tightly onto his hand and trying not to look at his arms.

”I don’t want to do this,” he admitted, looking at the stack of paper, thinking of all the things that Ryan/Kevin could have written. He refused to cry, but found it increasingly difficult to breathe. 

“You did the hard part.” Drew followed Franco’s gaze to the paper. He turned to Monica, “That’s private, right? You can’t release the name of a sexual assault victim and that’s basically what you would be doing, isn’t it?”

”I’ve never been in a situation anything like this,” she answered. “Honestly, I have to get the hospital’s legal representatives to contact the American Psychological Association for advice on this. Franco, I promise I will do whatever I can to protect your identity. I don’t know how the statute of limitation on the actual sexual abuse is considered in conjunction with the ethics violation. I don’t even know if it is an ethics violation. Ryan doesn’t have a license to violate. It’s a legal mess. And that’s not your fault at all. But, there are other targets I have to inform. So, if this goes to any kind of legal process, there will be a group of plaintiffs. At least it’s not just you and GH vs. Ryan Chamberlain.”

”You survived a monster and a brain tumor and recovering repressed memories and a psychotic pseudo-psychiatrist,” Kiki reminded him. “You don’t have one damn thing to be ashamed of.”

”I’m not brave like you,” he told Kiki, offering her a weak attempt at a smile. 

“Are you kidding me? You are the reason I am brave. After the tumor was removed, you stayed here where basically everyone hated or feared you so you could become a better person and try to make amends and try to help other people. Anyone else would have run off to Belize or somewhere else nice and sunny after being exonerated. You stayed to clean up the mess, or at least try to.” 

“How can you possibly think you’re not brave?” Drew chimed in. “You were brave and you protected me when we were four years old. You were unselfish to keep Harvey away from me instead of getting some relief while he came for me.” 

The thought of such behavior horrified Franco. “I could never have just let him get to you. No. No way. I couldn’t let him get his hands on you too.” 

“Yes, you could have,” Drew told him. “The point is, you didn’t. I can’t imagine even an older kid like Danny or Aiden understanding what was going to happen or how to stop it. You were outsmarting an adult when you were four to protect me. It kind of scares me to think how perceptive and intelligent you are to have done that.”

”You were faster. I had to be smarter,” Franco joked, trying to smile.

”I’m still faster.”

”I’m still smarter.” Franco genuinely laughed and so did Drew. 

“I’m going to get to work on discovery of the ethics and legal issues of this case,” Monica said. “Your family is going to take care of you.” She looked at Drew and Franco like she finally acknowledged and understood their brotherly bond for the first time. “And, Franco, one more thing.” 

“What’s that?” he asked.

”Don’t ever try anything like this again. It doesn’t matter how low you go — and you will still have lows — talk to someone. Talk to me if you need to. You’re loved and you matter. Just look at the three people in this room and keep that in your heart should you ever doubt it again.” 

 


	8. Chapter 8

Law enforcement working on Ryan’s case had not been able to find a trace of him or Kevin anywhere in Port Charles or the surrounding areas. The WSB was working with the FBI to investigate properties in Massachusetts that might be connected to him. 

Franco was allowed to go home the next day. Since it appeared there was no direct threat from Ryan, Monica reduced the time of his psychiatric hold with a well written justification should the move be questioned later. She had told him and Elizabeth to take at least a week off, more if they needed it. 

He was happy to be home. It felt safe, like a place where he could really rest. Drew had offered to take the kids, but Elizabeth and Franco decided it was best to tell them the truth when they got home. 

Scotty had gotten them off to school telling them nothing more than Franco had been injured at work and was spending the night in the hospital. He wouldn’t answer any further questions. 

Elizabeth and Franco were cuddling on the couch. “This is the perfect couch for us,” he commented. “Have you noticed how it fits us perfectly?”

”Yep,” Elizabeth said, playing with his hair. “I only married you because the couch approved.”

”Smart couch.” He inhaled deeply.

Elizabeth noticed he had been doing that more frequently. He was quiet, so it wasn’t annoying, but it did tell her when his anxiety was high. 

“The boys will be home soon,” he told her. “They’re going to want to know why we’re dressed for bed at 3:00.” She was wearing flannel pajamas and he was wearing a bulky long sleeved t-shirt and sweatpants. 

“We spent the night in the hospital. We’re tired.” It was absolutely the truth, just not all of it. “Are you okay? If you’re in pain, you can take something.”

”No. No pain medication. I want to remember every bit of how this feels in case I ever have another lapse into stupidity or insanity. Whatever. Pain is sobering. It’s real. Once you get burned, you stop touching the stove.”

”I get it,” she nodded. She didn’t like that he was essentially punishing himself, but if feeling the pain of his self-inflicted wounds would deter him from trying again, she was not going to try to convince him otherwise.

”I’m sorry.”

”I know.” She placed her hand over his heart. “You couldn’t think rationally. I am not okay with what you did by any means, but I do believe that Ryan was deliberately filling your head with garbage and you were overwhelmed. But you should have come to me. Sometimes I need to protect you. It’s not always about you protecting me from any threat you perceive.”

”My perceptions do lack clarity sometimes,” he admitted.

”Understatement,” she agreed. “But you have worked harder than anyone else I’ve ever known to improve yourself.” 

“Are you sorry you married me, or even got involved with me?”

”No. Not at all. I have never loved or been loved the way we love each other. You love my kids. They love you. You completely fill the hole that was in our lives.”

”My entire life was a hole before I met you.”

”You are a tortured artist,” she sighed. 

“I’m a cliche?”

”You’re way too complicated to be a cliche. On a scale of one to ten, how angry would you be if I told you I read Ryan’s book last night?”

“I’d be okay if you didn’t tell me.”

”Franco.”

”I don’t know,” he answered. “I don’t know what is in the book. I would rather no one read it. If the PCPD and WSB are using it as a basis to make an arrest, someone has to read it. The best I can hope for is that they remove my name and identifying information so if it goes public, people might think he was screwing with the other reformed killer who had a brain tumor.”

”Yeah, him,” Elizabeth actually appreciated his macabre humor at a time like this.

”Monica read it, which is like fifty shades of weird. I’d rather you read it than her.”

”But when the truth is laid bare, you told him things that you planned to take to your grave. I’m so angry that he weaponized your memories.”

”I’m angry that I couldn’t tell what he was doing. It didn’t feel right that he made me feel bad about myself and what -I- did. He was treated me like Jim Harvey did and I fell into the trap. Shouldn’t I have seen it, figured it out?”

”If only it were that simple,” Elizabeth said. “He was slowly and systematically destroying you from within. You didn’t take any bait for killing anyone else, so he decided to push you to kill yourself.”

”Do you mean he wanted to turn me into Franco version 1.0?”

”Yes, but he couldn’t do it because the tumor was gone and it’s not part of the real you to kill just for the sake of killing.” 

“I guess I should take comfort in his professional opinion on that, at least.”

”Some of what he wrote was so disgusting,” she fumed. “Do you remember saying you thought he was taking pleasure in hearing you talk about Jim Harvey?” 

He nodded, disgust showing in his expression.

”He was...” She thought it would be better for him to hear this from her than someone else. “He was aroused by the things Jim Harvey did to you. He wrote about how he fantasized about making you act like little Bobby so he could play Jim Harvey’s role.” 

He sat up, pulling quickly away from her. “I think I’m going to throw up.” He closed his eyes and tried to breathe while also trying to decide if he should make a run to the closest toilet.

She rubbed his back, trying to soothe him. “I’m sorry. I just thought you should know.” 

“Real Kevin would never do that. He never pushed me to a place that  allowed me to suffer, even when I was desperate to remember. Why couldn’t I tell the difference?” 

“Ryan changed Kevin’s tactics slowly. He thought he had all the time in the world, that no one would ever suspect a thing.”

”Do you think Kevin is okay?” If I had realized what was going on—“

”Don’t even start that,” Elizabeth warned him firmly. “You are not taking the blame for Kevin being a victim too.”

”I guess you’re right.”

”Guess?” she asked with a little fire.

”You are right. Absolutely.”

”The only person to blame here is Ryan.”

They heard the bus pulling to a stop outside. Soon the boys would be inside and full of questions. 

“Here comes a tough conversation,” Franco said.

”We’ll get through it.” Elizabeth kissed him and got up to open the door for the kids.

Franco felt like a hurricane was approaching.

 


	9. Chapter 9

Elizabeth hugged each of the boys as they came inside, whether they wanted it or not. Three backpacks were thrown onto the floor by the doorway. 

Jake and Aiden hurried towards Franco who was sitting at the end of the couch. Cam hung back a little. As he got older, he also became less affectionate towards adults.

”Careful!” Elizabeth warned, imagining both boys jumping onto Franco at once. 

“Are you okay?” Jake asked. “What happened? Grandpa Scotty wouldn’t tell us anything.” 

Franco took another deep breath. “Hey, Cam, come sit with us.

The family took their places from left to right with Jake and Aiden between their parents and Cam opting to sit by himself in a chair. 

“Is something wrong?” Aiden asked. 

“Yes,” Franco answered. “There’s quite a lot wrong and it may affect you in some way.”

”Like you tried to kill your self at the hospital?” Cam asked, sounding bitter. 

“Well, so much for HIPPA laws,” Elizabeth grumbled. “Where did you hear that?”

”At school. All day long. ‘Your stepdad is crazy.’” He was clearly angry about being teased.

”I prefer ‘unstable.’” Franco responded without missing a beat. 

“Is it true?” Cam asked. “I spent half the day telling people they were lying and the other half ignoring everybody.”

He nodded, “It’s true.” 

“I thought you were happy with us.” Cam’s voice had an accusatory tone.

”I had a lapse in... judgment, perception, however you want to put it.”

”It’s very complicated,” Elizabeth added.

”I don’t want to hear it from you. You’ll just defend him.”

”Do not speak to me in that tone of voice,” Elizabeth reprimanded him. “You have no right there to sit there sulking when you have no idea what is going on.”

”I’m sorry you were ridiculed,” Franco told him. “Words hurt, don’t they?”

”Yeah.”

”I hope you will keep that in mind and give me a chance to explain.”

”Did you really want to die?” Jake asked, crestfallen. 

“No, not at all. I listened to someone who convinced me that I had to die for you to be safe.”

”Why?” Jake asked. Aiden seemed frightened by the whole idea.

”You know Dr. Collins, right?”

”Yeah, he’s nice.”

”Yes, he is. However, Dr. Collins has a twin brother named Ryan who is not nice at all. It appears that Ryan has kidnapped Kevin and been posing as him for months. I talk to Kevin on a regular basis and I didn’t realize I was talking to Ryan.”

”Why are you talking to a shrink anyway?” Cam asked. “Are you really crazy like some people say?”

”Cameron!” Elizabeth snapped. 

Franco took it in stride. “I’m not crazy. But I have psychiatric issues I need help from a professional to deal with.”

”Doesn’t psychiatric mean crazy?” 

“It means a lot of things: conflicted, complicated, painful, difficult to understand, hard to accept, detrimental to quality of life. I had to have help to deal with things I cannot handle on my own.”

”What things? What if you aren’t the person I thought you are and you turn crazy and hurt my mom?”

The words tore into Franco’s soul, but he understood Cam’s fear and felt it was justified. ”Have you ever been afraid of me?” he asked. “Before now? I’m asking all three of you.”

”No. You’re my best friend,” Jake answered, without hesitation. 

Aiden shook his head to indicate that he had not been afraid either. 

Franco looked at his oldest stepson.

”No. I’ve never been afraid of you. You’ve always been good to me.”

”I’m relieved to hear that.” They had no idea how relieved he actually was. “Okay, this is where all the complications begin. I’m limiting what I tell you as much as I can.”

Elizabeth nodded, encouraging him. “It’s okay. They need to know.” 

He took a calming breath. “The woman who raised me, Betsy Frank, illegally had custody of me and your uncle Drew for a while. We were Bobby and Andy then, raised as twins. Then one day, Betsy sent Andy away and it was just her, a man she loved, and me. I had to call him Uncle Jim. I was terrified of Uncle Jim, every minute of every day.”

”Did he hurt you?” Jake asked.

Franco nodded. “Yeah, he hurt me.”

”Was it that man that tried to get me and mom to go with him in the car until you tackled him so we could run away? He kept calling you Bobby. I thought that was weird.”

He nodded. “Yes, that was him.”

”He was really mean and scary.”

”Yeah, I thought so too, especially when I was a little kid.” He looked at Cameron whose expression seemed to say he understood what was being said without being said.

”So, here’s the thing. If someone like Uncle Jim ever hurts you, in any way, you need to tell an adult. Anyone you trust, anyone who will listen. The Uncle Jims of the world will hurt you and then lie and tell you it was your own fault and manipulate you in any way they can. Bottom line... it’s not okay for anyone to hurt you, ever.”

”Did you tell anyone? Did anyone help you?” Cam asked. 

“No. I didn’t have anyone who could or would help me. So, basically, I put everything he did into like a box in my head and locked it. I spent a lot of years believing what he told me though. I was worthless, evil...” He shook his head, reminding himself to keep the details sparse. 

“So, eventually, that box in my mind had too much information in it and it started to seep out. I remembered things, but didn’t understand what I was remembering.” He looked at Elizabeth. She nodded, silently telling him he was doing fine.

”That’s when I went to Dr. Collins for help.” He just skipped the part about seeing Dr. Maddox. It was already too complicated. “Kevin helped me a lot. I was feeling better. Then things changed slowly. At some point, I was talking to Ryan, but I didn’t know that. And, remember, Ryan is a very bad man.The police are looking for Ryan and trying to find Kevin too.

”Ryan’s goal was to hurt me and Kevin’s other patients and undo everything Kevin did to help us.” 

“Why?” Aiden asked.

”I’m not really sure,” Franco shrugged. “Ryan is probably a bad man, like Uncle Jim, maybe in a different way.”

”But why did you try to kill yourself?” Cameron asked. 

Franco considered his answer carefully. “Therapy is a process, not a moment. The therapist gains your trust and you allow him to know things you might never tell anyone else because it’s supposed to be a safe and confidential, or secret, setting. 

“Like I said, Kevin really helped me and I trusted him. Then Ryan started chipping away at what Kevin had done. He steered me toward fear, doubt, depression, anxiety, hopelessness. He told me I was too damaged to get better and because of how I was hurt and because I had had a brain tumor, it was just a matter of time before I would hurt my family. He said he couldn’t stop me. He also brought up suicide a lot in the past few months. He was actively steering me to do this. 

“I trusted the wrong person and, in fear, I made a very bad decision. Luckily, Kiki and Dr. Jones were able to save my life.”

”You look all right,” Jake observed. “What — I mean — is it okay to ask what you did?” 

Franco looked to Elizabeth for that answer.

”Show them.”

He pulled his bulky sleeves up to his elbows and they saw his bandaged arms. 

“Does it hurt?” Aiden asked shyly.

”It certainly does hurt,” he said. “Not just my arms. My heart hurts. My brain hurts. I regret this. I regret hurting your mother, you boys, Kiki, my dad, Drew — all because I made a very bad decision to do something that an evil person wanted me to do. I feel pretty stupid that I couldn’t tell that Kevin was actually Ryan.”

”I don’t think you’re stupid,” Cam said. “Ryan sounds like a bully, only even worse.” 

“That’s a good comparison,” Elizabeth told him, relieved his attitude had shifted during the conversation.

”You have to be careful about who you trust,” Cam reasoned. “You made a mistake.” 

“Do you forgive me?”

”I don’t think you need to be forgiven,” Cam said. “I think you need to be reminded how much we all love you and that we trust you and that we matter. Ryan doesn’t. And neither do any of those stupid kids at school.” 

Elizabeth was crying, so proud of her eldest son at that moment. 

Franco nodded, but bit his lip and swallowed because he didn’t want to cry in front of the boys too. He tried to smile. “You’re a pretty smart kid,” he said.

Cam smiled. “I’m sorry I was mad earlier.” 

“It’s okay. You weren’t wrong to be angry. Your mom was pretty mad too at first.”

”I should have waited to hear the whole story.”

”You three boys are the most amazing kids in the world. And you have a great mom.” 

“We have a great dad, too,” Jake said, hugging him, but being careful not to touch his arms. In moments, Aiden and Cam joined the hug and so did Elizabeth. 

“I love you all so much,” he told them.

”We love you too. Don’t ever lose sight of that again.” Elizabeth placed a kiss on his forehead and her heart felt like it might burst. She was proud of all her men, the big one and the little ones. She felt her life was complete. 

 

 

 


	10. Chapter 10

Franco couldn’t believe he was doing this or standing at this door of all places. “The things I get myself into...” he thought. 

The door opened. “May I help you?” a man in a suit asked.

”I need to speak to Mrs. Corinthos.”

“May I tell her who’s calling?”

”The art therapist.”

The butler allowed him to step inside and wait. 

Several minutes passed before Carly appeared. “What are you doing here?” she asked suspiciously. 

“Someone is in danger. Can we speak privately?”

Interest piqued, Carly agreed and led him to the living room. She motioned for him to sit and she did the same. “Okay, who’s in danger?”

”Kevin Collins.”

She gave one of her condescending looks. “I don’t feel particularly compelled to help Kevin after he turned in Jason for trying to help me.”

”That may not have been Kevin.”

”I’m pretty sure it was. He’s the only one who recognized Jason.”

”The person you thought was Kevin might have been someone else.”

”I don’t understand.” 

“Did you know that Kevin had or has a twin brother named Ryan Chamberlain? He was assumed dead, but he’s not. He’s posing as Kevin and trying to sabotage his patients’ progress,” Franco explained. 

“Why would he do that?” 

“He’s cruel and hates Kevin and hates people in general.”

”What do you think this has to do with me?” Carly asked as if he was annoying her.

”Was there anything about Kevin that seemed strange at Ferncliff?”

Carly thought about it. Her memory was blurry due to all the drugs she had been given. “There was something strange!” she declared as though a light bulb came on for her. “I thought I saw Kevin in a straight jacket in the hallway. Before that, the person in the room next to me kept tapping out SOS signals. Every time I asked about him, I was told he was dangerous and to ignore him.”

”So, it could have been him or it could have been Kevin asking for help. Thanks. I’ll let Jordan and Anna know.” 

“The WSB is involved?” Carly seemed surprised. 

“Kevin may be in danger, as well as all of his patients.” He got up to leave.

”Hey, Franco,” she stopped him. “Joss told me something the other day. Kids were picking on Cam, not Joss, but the idiot crowd. Are you okay?”

”I will be,” he answered. 

She was startled that he acknowledged that the rumors were true. “I’m glad you’re okay,” she said and she even sounded sincere. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

”You just helped. The sooner Ryan is caught, the sooner everyone in Port Charles will be safe.” 

“You know, I owe you a favor. I could get Sonny—“

”Don’t mention this to Sonny. This is being handled legally. Aside from helping Jason break you out, I’m staying on the right side of the law. I have too much to lose.” 

“You really love Elizabeth, don’t you?” 

“She is absolutely the best thing that has ever happened in my life.”

He started to exit again, but she stopped him. “I know it’s none of my business, but why did you try to hurt yourself?” 

“You’re right. It’s none of your busines,” he sighed. “But, since you’ve been seeing him too, I will tell you. It all goes back to Ryan and mind games. Maybe it’s a fitting punishment for me.”

”I think you’ve been punished enough. It’s not like this city is full of saints. I guess I get what you mean though. Nelle was like a run in with my past self. I was just as horrible as she was.”

”I’m sorry about Michael’s baby.”

”Thanks.”

”Okay, I am going go for real now.  Thanks for the tip. If you see Ryan, call the police. Don’t let him know you suspect anything. Also, tell Joss thanks for being a friend to Cam. He should not have had to be ridiculed for my stupidity.” 

“I’ll tell her,” Carly said. “I still owe you one.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had to move along the story. Not the most exciting chapter, I admit. But I am pretty sure my Frizzy Friends are going to enjoy the next chapter! Stay tuned!!!


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elizabeth reacts to Franco’s news.

“You went to see Carly?”

”Yes.”

”And took her information to Jordan.” 

“Yes.”

”And walked away?”

”Here I am.”

”Who are you and what have you done with my husband?” 

“I’m trying to be less impulsive than an average seven year old.” 

“I like it. It works for you.” She wrapped her arms around him. “It’s working for me too.” She kissed his lips, then his cheek, then his neck.”

”That’s working for me,” he whispered leaning his head back so she could continue to kiss his neck. “Tell me the kids are at soccer or the movies or joy riding on a tractor at a farm.” 

“They’re not here if that’s what you want to hear.” She pulled away, took his hand, and led him to the stairs.

”Exactly what I wanted to hear.” There was a sparkle in his eyes that she had not seen in a while.

They were quickly in their bedroom with the door locked just in case that tractor ran out of gas.

”Do you know how flawlessly beautiful you are?” Franco asked her in a low voice, his lips close to her ear. 

“You make me feel beautiful,” she told him, laying back on her pillows. She slipped her hands under his shirt and traced the muscles of his torso. 

“There are too many clothes in this bed,” Franco told her as he pushed her shirt over her head and threw it in a random direction. Her porcelain beauty was partially hidden by an emerald green bra. His life was made easier since it was a front closure design. 

He slowly undid each snap and followed each one with a kiss, both teasing her and prolonging the experience. Once he got rid of the pesky undergarment, he stroked and massaged her breasts and she gave her approval with every little sound she made. 

“You gotta play fair,” she told him, pulling his shirt over his head. She paused for a moment at the sight of the bare stitches in his arms, but pushed all of those thoughts out of her head. Once she removed his shirt, she pulled him close again. She ran her fingers through his hair and pulled his head to her chest, hoping he would put his incredibly skillful mouth to use. 

She got exactly what she wanted. Her every movement told him she was enjoying herself. No other man had ever brought her so much pleasure by focusing on her body the way he did. No other man had ever devoted time to her pleasure the way he did. “Oh my god, how do you what you do to me?” She asked, breathless. “Lower,” she demanded. 

The most difficult part of his next mission was getting her out of her jeans and underwear while she was squirming, eager for him to adore her and put her first. He managed, and soon his stunning wife was completely naked in their bed. He ran his fingers up her thigh and over her most sensitive spots. 

“Lose the pants,” she told him. I want to feel every part of your body against mine.

He obliged, feeling ecstasy in knowing that this woman wanted him to be part of her.

She played in his hair again and spread her legs guiding him to take control of her in a way he had perfected. She gasped when she felt his lips and the scruff on his chin touch her. She shuddered as he licked his lips to wet them. She didn’t have the stamina to hold out long while he turned her insides to a hot, wet destination for their combined pleasure. 

“I need you,” she begged, digging her fingers into his back. “I have to feel you inside me.”

Her words were all he needed to serve her desires. He took her hands in his and raised them above her head while laying fully on top of her. She was spread wide, waiting for him. 

“Yes, like that,” she panted as he entered her. “Deeper. Go deeper. I want to see stars!” She was almost growling with pleasure as he filled her. 

Her mouth was wide open, so he sealed it with his own and they tasted each other without restraint. 

Elizabeth set a rhythm, moving her body to reach a staggering climax. “Own me,” she told him. “Don’t let me go.” 

After he was spent, he rolled onto his back next to her. They were both sweating and out of breath. 

“You good?” he asked. 

“You’re a magician,” she told him. “You know every place, every way to touch me, exactly how I want you to move. How do you know?” she asked, breathlessly.

”I pay attention,” he answered. “Your responses tell me what you want. And, of course, it doesn’t hurt that you’re calling out audible directives like you think you’re Frederico Fillini.”

She blushed. “You make me free to be a sexual being. In the past, I felt like I had to do what was expected, be a nice girl, a good girl, quiet, submissive to a man. You bring out—“ 

“The tiger?” 

“You remember that?”

”Kind of,” he laughed. 

“I’ll be your tiger, your lioness, your panther... whatever you want, babe. I lose myself when I’m with you.” She laid her head on his chest and he played with her hair.

”I think you actually find yourself,” he told her. “You’re a woman who wants to feel pleasure and deserves everything she wants. Embrace it. I plan to spend the rest of my life making you squirm and scream and following your orders.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yep, I am cutting this part off mid-conversation. I always have a reason....


	12. Chapter 12

“That doesn’t seem quite fair,” Elizabeth said, snuggling as close as she could. She didn’t want to let him go. “You should tell me what you want. Order me around a little bit.” 

“What we have is good. I love fulfilling your wishes.” Franco kissed the top of her head.

She propped herself up on her elbow. “Come on, you have to want something different, something no one has ever done for you.” 

“I’ve got that. No one had ever known me and still loved me anyway.”

”I’ve never been loved like this either,” she sighed. “I have had puppy love, lust, friends with benefits, out right mistakes.... Other men wanted to screw around, but I always knew it was about them and what got them off. I’ve had to fake it so many times...” she shook her head, thinking about it.

”With me?” he asked. 

“God, no. Never. If I get lost in my thoughts about you, I risk embarrassing myself at work. Epiphany catches me and will say something like, ‘Uh-huh. You’re thinking about that fine man you have.’” She did her best impression of Epiphany.

”Epiphany thinks I’m ‘fine’?” he asked. 

“She’s not blind.” Elizabeth laughed. “Come on, though. I want to do something you fantasize about.” 

“I fantasize about waking up next to you every day for the rest of my life.”

Elizabeth did not seem convinced. “You’re a guy. Other than that three way lesbian thing every guy wants— and I’m not going to do— there has to be something.”

”We really come from different places. I went through that experimental phase during a bad time in my life. You know, crazy artist, critic’s darling, upper crust New York City. It was a crazy world. I was surrounded by people who experimented and I tried to find something there, but it was hollow. I was trying to figure out who I was and be who I thought I was supposed to be and I have no fondness for that time of my life. I was so full of pain that nothing gave me pleasure. I don’t want to go back there.”

She laid her head in his chest, listening to his heartbeat. When he really opened up to her about his past, the pain overwhelmed her. She could only imagine what he kept inside. 

“Elizabeth, don’t be sad. This is one reason we work so well. You need freedom. I need to be grounded. I’m very happy with our love life. When you tell me I make you feel beautiful and free to be a sexual being, I’m happy.” 

“Well, if you ever feel safe enough with me to say you want me to wear a blonde wig, or a naughty cheerleader uniform, or be like a slutty girl in a hair band video, all you have to do is ask. And that’s because I feel completely safe with you.” 

“You’re not slutty or naughty. And I will never ask you to degrade yourself for me.”

”There are plenty of people who would and have called me a slut. I’ve been with more men than I ever thought I would. I’ve been pregnant and not known who the father was. Plenty of people would say I’m no better than a common whore.”

”Plenty of people would get their ass kicked by me if they did.” 

She smiled. It was wonderful to have a man so devoted to her, just her. 

His fingers danced across her bare back. “I guess, if there was one thing, if I could have anything,” he paused. “Never mind, it’s stupid and can’t be done.” 

“What’s stupid and can’t be done?”

”I wish I could get Jim Harvey out of our bed.” 

“How is he in our bed,” she asked, crushed by his honesty. It had been a very long time since she had given a thought to Tom Baker, but Franco’s memories were new and still raw. “Does it get to you for me to tell you what I want?”

”No. I like that. Like I said, it’s stupid.”

”It’s not stupid. I read Ryan’s book. He was a horrible person who did horrible things.”

He closed his eyes. “Yeah, I don’t want to talk about it.”

”Don’t shut down on me.”

He shook his head. “It’s just there. I feel inadequate. Used. Filthy. I am afraid I cannot hide what he did to me and if you see it, you’ll think I’m disgusting.”

She stroked his cheek. “I think you’re beautiful. Your heart, your soul, and, yes, your body too. I want to share everything with you, even the difficult stuff. Did Kevin ever talk to you about how your feelings about sexuality can be affected by trauma?” 

“He mentioned it. He recommended a support group for male survivors.” 

“Go,” she encouraged him. “Another man may be able to understand in a way a woman can’t.”

He frowned. “I don’t want to. I don’t want people to know.”

”It may empower you to be open with other people.”

”I don’t really want to wear the ‘sexually abused child’ stamp on my forehead.” 

“That’s predominantly how you see yourself now, isn’t it? I think Ryan’s form of ‘treatment’ or torture has made that your identity.” 

“Yeah, that’s pretty much what I see when I look in the mirror. Ryan put so much focus on prying for details that I am kind of drowning in the memories.” 

“He’s sick. That’s not how a real therapist would treat you.”

”I didn’t know.”

”Of course you didn’t know. You had an established trust with Kevin. Then Ryan changed his tactics slowly. Can you talk to me?” she asked. 

“I wish I could.”

”What’s holding you back?”

He gave it serious consideration before settling on one word: “Shame.”

”What causes you shame?” 

“I let him do things to me. I did what he wanted. I was afraid and too stupid to realize he probably wouldn’t actually kill my mom and take me away.”

”Babe, he did kidnap your mother after four decades. That threat was probably very real.”

”I think your average hooker would have been treated with more dignity.”

”You were so young when he started molesting you. A child can’t understand that. You understood that your family was in danger and the burden of protecting them was on you. That’s what he wanted you to believe. It’s what he pounded into your head.” 

“I think I died. My soul was just gone after so much. I didn’t cry. I didn’t fight. I just existed in the most shallow dimension I could, trying not to feel anything, not believe anything, not hope for anything.”

Elizabeth didn’t want to bring up Betsy’s name, but she could not understand how a mother could not see her child was suffering. “You were already drawing by then, weren’t you?” 

“Yeah,” he answered. “I think it kept me from actually dying.”

”I wish I could see what you drew as a child. I wish I could see inside that part of your life.”

”You do?” he asked, surprised.

”Of course I do. You were able to pick up on Jake’s problems so easily from his artwork.”

”I have a lot of it,” he told her sheepishly. “I don’t know why I kept it. I’m sure it’s all crap. I haven’t even looked at any of it in at least 25 years.”

”Did your mom hang onto it?” she asked, imagining stacks of paper.

”I did. I guess my mother paid enough attention to know I was interested in pretty much nothing besides drawing. She gave me sketch pads and pencils or crayons when she could.” 

“My mind is blown,” Elizabeth admitted. “Where is it?” 

“In that case on my side of the closet.”

”I always wondered what was in that.” He had put a very old black wooden box on the floor in the closet when he moved in, but she never saw him open it for anything. She had assumed it was a random collection of things that had some significance to him. She had never imagined it was his earliest artwork. 

“Get it!” she said, excited. “I want to see it!”

”Well, okay, I will,” he laughed. “You’re the boss.” 

 


	13. Chapter 13

They both put on their robes before Franco brought the black box out of the closet. It was Saturday and the kids might be brought home from their activities at any time. 

Elizabeth arranged the pillows so that they could sit up comfortably while Franco set the box on the bed. 

“I feel like Pandora,” he commented. “All manner of hell might be in here.” 

“But unlike Pandora, you’ve already contained the evil.”

He hesitated. “Do you really think this is a good idea? Like I said, I have no idea what I drew back then. I don’t want you to be afraid of where I came from.” 

“I’m well aware of where you came from and I do not fear you at all, certainty not you as a child trying to cope with things happening to you that you didn’t have any way to understand. I didn’t fear Jake when he was in that dark phase. I was afraid for him. But Jake had support. You didn’t. Your art was your own self therapy.”

Franco nodded, “Okay. I guess it’s now or never.” 

Elizabeth put her hand over his as he reached to open the box. “Are you afraid of what you’ll find?”

”Maybe. It’s been so long and I know a lot more about my life now than I ever have before.”

”Thank you for letting me into this part of your life. You could have let that box sit there forever.”

He sighed. “Maybe we should see how bad it is before you thank me.” He opened the box carefully, as if he thought a two headed snake might jump out of it.

It was filled mostly with sketch pads and also some old pencils, crayons, chalk, and paintbrushes. He took all the booklets out, knowing the oldest would be at the bottom. The oldest ones weren’t dated, but he had started dating them as he got older. 

The quality of the paper had held up well, partially from being kept in airtight storage. Elizabeth was surprised to see so many booklets and that they all looked well used. 

“I think I was about three when I got this one,” he said. “Brace yourself. These are probably awful quality.”

”I’m sure they are fine,” she told him. She snuggled closer to him, waiting for him to open to the first page. She understood she was going to see things no one else had been trusted to view, so it had to be on his time. 

“Okay. Here goes nothing. Or everything.” He opened to the first page. “Are you glancing, critiquing, or analyzing?” he asked. 

“All of the above are possible,” she laughed. “Oh, that’s cute,” she said. The first picture was a ladybug, although it looked like it had been squished because the basic oval shape was a bit disproportionate. There was nothing sinister about it at all. 

While thumbing through the pages, they also found a butterfly,  a cricket, a bumblebee, and a green grasshopper of similar quality.

”Must have been my insect phase,” Franco joked, absolutely relieved that the initial pictures were just regular pictures any normal kid could have made—poorly drawn but identifiable. 

“They’re cute,” Elizabeth said. “I can definitely tell you had better fine motor skills and a better eye for details than most pre-schoolers. 

There were numerous attempts at other animals with varying levels of quality. There were many pictures of dogs of different shapes, sizes, and colors. “I always wanted a dog,” he reflected. 

“Maybe Santa will bring you a puppy,” she laughed.

”I probably couldn’t train it. Maybe we could adopt a shelter dog that’s already trained and developed its temperament.”

”That’s actually not a bad idea,” Elizabeth agreed. 

They also found early attempts at drawing people. Betsy and Andy were featured and sometimes Bobby drew himself with them. In every picture with Andy, the boys were dressed just alike. 

Elizabeth noticed that “early Franco” included more details than most other young children would—eyebrows, shoes, fuller hair, jewelry. “I can see why your mom encouraged you to draw. Your work is definitely ahead of most kids this young.” She noticed that in the pictures of just Andy, Bobby, and Betsy, they looked like a content, normal family. 

They were well into the second book when Franco saw something that startled him. It was a brown teddy bear with green eyes, wearing a red bow. He felt like his stomach was doing somersaults. “Oh, god,” he whispered.

”What’s wrong?” Elizabeth asked, both surprised and concerned that he had such a strong reaction to an innocuous teddy bear. 

“He brought me toys,” Franco whispered.  

She nodded, looked back at the bear, and felt sick. “This was the first one,” she accurately guessed.

”This is where it started,” he confirmed. 

They were both hesitant to keep going. Elizabeth was afraid she had seen the last disproportionate ladybug or fish. She wouldn’t push. She knew she had to let her husband continue this when he was ready, if he was ready. 

“I’m looking at a teddy bear and I feel like I’m going to throw up,” he said.

”Me too,” she agreed. “It’s a pretty significant teddy bear.” 

“That stupid toy sent my life spiraling into hell. I was excited that Uncle Jim bought me a toy, but I felt bad that he didn’t bring one for Andy. He said he would bring one for Andy soon. I think Andy felt left out, but he was fine when he found out his toy was coming later. Uncle Jim said I was quiet and we could play together so he could get to know me better. He said Andy did all the talking and he knew Andy better, but he wanted to be friends with both of us.” 

Elizabeth had to hide the rage she was feeling towards that personification of evil that destroyed Bobby. She nodded to urge Franco to keep talking. 

“He said we would go play in my room and make up a story and Andy could spend some quality time with Mom. It would be like having a mother and a father, like a real family.” He stopped, lost in his memories.

”What are you thinking about?” 

“I wonder why he started with me. Am I horrible for asking that?” 

“No. Not at all,” she assured him. “Drew actually expressed the same thing because he felt guilty that you suffered alone.”

”Really?” Franco was surprised.

”He really feels guilty about it. Grateful for your protection, but guilty that you suffered.” 

“That was my choice,” Franco said. 

“Well, believe me, Drew realizes what you did for him and how it affected your life.” 

“It’s not his fault.”

”It’s not yours either,” Elizabeth reminded him. “You said you were quiet and Andy liked to talk. I think you were already more withdrawn than him and you were probably the easier target.” 

“I’m glad he never hurt Drew. Don’t get me wrong. I just wonder why I was different. What made me ‘special’?” He nearly choked on the word. 

“Jim Harvey was a professional pedophile. You know he was targeting both of you. But he had to, for lack of a better way of putting it, break you in first. He needed to scare you to the point of not telling Betsy or Andy. Once he could control you, he was going to move on to Andy. He didn’t count on your being smarter than him and so protective of your brother.” 

“I wasn’t smarter. I didn’t stop him. I got Andy sent away.”

”You predicted what he was going to do and you took action to stop him. That takes insight and planning. At four years old, your plans might not go so well, but you did, ultimately protect your brother.” 

Franco reached to turn to the next page. It was the same bear, but this one had black scribbled over the eyes and mouth. There were what might have been black tears falling from the desecrated eyes and the ribbon was gone.

Elizabeth watched for Franco’s reaction. He was staring at the toy like it was repugnant. He looked anguished. She reached out to him, “Breathe.” Her touch startled him.

He shook his head. “I can’t.” His mind was flashing from one image of Jim Harvey to another and to the teddy bear. He could almost hear what Jim was saying, but he didn’t want to hear it. He had a flash of the red ribbon being shoved into his mouth. He kept shaking his head, trying to make it stop. “I can’t.” He was having trouble breathing. 

Elizabeth quickly threw all of the books back into the box and set it on the floor. She didn’t want to damage the material, but she knew she had to get it away from Franco.

She pulled him to her, wrapping her arms around him as tightly as she could. “You’re okay. You’re safe here with me. We’re in our home. We love each other.” She could feel his entire body was shaking. “Talk to me if you can.”

”His voice. I don’t want to hear his voice.”

”Then listen to my voice,” she said. “Listen to me. I’m the person who loves you most in the whole world. I will never, ever hurt you.”

She tried to think of a song, one they both liked, or a story. But her mind was blank. She didn’t want to talk about the kids at this time. She couldn’t think of even one interesting thing about work or what was in the news. Her thoughts raced to find a distraction. For some unknown reason, she thought of staying with Audrey when she was little and the music her grandmother liked. A song came into her head and out of her mouth: 

“I’m little but I’m loud

I’m poor but I’m proud 

I’m countrified and I don’t care who knows it

I’m like a banty rooster 

In a big red rooster crowd 

I’m puny, short, and little but I’m loud.”

Elizabeth knew she had captured his attention, so she kept singing, surprising herself.

“I sang a special solo 

In church one Sunday morn

And I was plumb embarrassed to my skin

I hit a high note

And sure as I was born 

Two cows and fourteen hogs came walking in”

Franco was staring at her, amused, amazed, and astounded. “What the hell was that?” he asked, but there was a little smile on his face.

Elizabeth shrugged. “I used to sing along when I stayed with my grandmother. I was little and I was loud.” 

“You’re still little. And you’re still loud,” he tried to laugh. “And you just saved me from going over the edge again.” 

Elizabeth sighed, relieved. They laid back together with his head on her shoulder and she rubbed his back to soothe him. “Well, to be fair, we have to give Little Jimmy Dickens the credit for that one.” She never realized one day she would be so appreciative of her grandmother’s record collection. She was so relieved the kids were not home yet. They had time to regroup. 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “I’m Little but I’m Loud” was written by Jimmy Dickens and Boudleaux Bryant, recorded by Little Jimmy Dickens, released 1969. 
> 
> No copyright infringement intended.


	14. Chapter 14

“I guess we can agree that was a mistake,” Franco said, joining Elizabeth on the couch after the boys had been fed and sent to bed. The two of them were trying to relax, holding onto each other in a way that had become second nature. Maybe it was subconscious, but they had developed a need to be in contact with each other whenever they were together, even if was just their knees touching under a table while they ate. 

“I’m sorry,” Elizabeth said. “I was excited by the idea of seeing what you drew as a child. It didn’t cross my mind that it would trigger memories for you. That was pretty stupid on my part.”

”It’s not your fault,” Franco assured her. “I didn’t think I would get so upset so easily either. Maybe if I wasn’t overwhelmed by everything Ryan has brought back into focus, it wouldn’t have bothered me.” 

“I think it probably would have,” Elizabeth was honest about it. “Your ‘therapy’ with Ryan has just made it worse. We can put that box back in the closet and leave it there for the rest of our lives.”

”You said you wanted to look through them,” he reminded her.

”Not at your expense.”

”How about this,” Franco started, “You look at anything you want, and I won’t. At least not for a long, long time.”

”I don’t want to invade your privacy.”

”You’re not. I’m inviting you. I’m just not ready to go with you. Maybe one day I can when I’m not so feeble-minded that I have stupid reactions.” 

“That’s a harsh criticism of yourself,” Elizabeth told him. “A verifiable psychopath has been using your mind as a playground.”

”You always try to make me feel better.”

”Is it working?” 

“When I’m reminded of what we have, I always feel better. I never thought this was possible.”

”What?” 

“Being married, being almost a dad, falling in love with a woman who isn’t crazy as hell with an evil streak. Finding someone who believes there is good in me and isn’t bashful about telling anyone that she thinks so. I didn’t think mothers like you were real. You pay attention to your kids, love them, protect them, discipline them without physically hurting them. You keep them safe. How are you so good at being a mom when your own mother basically abandoned you?”

His description of her warmed Elizabeth’s heart. “My grandmother had the biggest influence on me. You’re a good dad and you never had a positive male figure in your life. That’s pretty impressive.”

”I always thought kids had to be protected. I never thought loving someone’s children would be so important in my life.” He remembered telling Nina he wasn’t fit to be a parent. Everything changed when Jake became his patient and Elizabeth became part of his life.

”I’m so lucky I found you,” Elizabeth sighed. 

“Me too. I don’t ever want to face a day without you.”

”We can be that old couple that dies together, holding hands in bed—natural causes, of course.” Elizabeth suggested. 

“That sounds perfect, but let’s not put it on our calendar for a long time.”

”Domestic bliss,” Elizabeth declared. 

“Is that what we have?”

”Yep. Nice home. Good kids. Perfect marriage. Money in the bank that we’re too smart to spend. Great sex.”

”That should have ranked higher,” Franco joked. 

“True. You might have to remind me later tonight so I can analyze the list with fresh perspective.”

”If we repeat this afternoon, the kids are going to need therapy,” he teased her.

”I can be quiet,” she laughed. “But I love that I don’t always feel like I have to be.” 

“I adore your uninhibited side. I like to think it’s just for me.”

”Trust me, it is. Like I told you, everything is different with you. Different—better.” 

“You’re the ocean and I’m your island.”

She melted just a little bit, “That’s such a beautiful sentiment.”

He shrugged, “Totally stole it from a song, to be honest.”

She laughed. “It’s still beautiful.” 

“It’s us.” 

Elizabeth placed her hands on his cheeks and stared into his eyes for a moment. “You are amazingly grounded considering that most of your life has been so turbulent.”

”I guess I had to survive some hurricanes to get here. I’m happy now. I like being settled. Most of my fear, sadness, anxiety, and anger is gone. I like having the ability to think before I react.”

”I like that I can react without thinking when I’m with you.” 

He initiated a kiss, slow and sweet. “We’re going to have to get the kids each a pair of those earbuds and encourage them to listen to relaxing music to make them sleep. There’s an app for that, you know.” He grinned. 

Elizabeth giggled. “I have an idea.  Let’s play The Quiet Game, adult version.” She was giving him the look.

”Are challenging me to completely silent sex?” he asked, feigning disbelief. 

“Yep.” Her tone and expression were seductive. “First one to make a sound loses.”

”What does the winner get?”

”Anything she wants.” 

“You mean anything he wants,” Franco smiled, accepting her challenge.

And they made their way up the stairs without so much as a creaking floorboard. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks SoapTweetsGH for that special video. This chapter is for you!


	15. Chapter 15

Elizabeth had spectacularly lost the Adult Quiet Game within two minutes. She accused Franco of not playing fair, but she knew it was just that she couldn't help herself when she was with him. As soon as she lost, they had both started laughing uncontrollably. She had never before had so much fun with a partner before. They simply enjoyed being together, no matter what else was going on in their lives.

Now, she was enjoying a quiet Sunday at home alone. Jason had graciously offered to take Cam and Aiden along with Jake and Danny to a New York Giants football game that day, so they had left early to drive to New Jersey. She figured they would not return until the next day. She had told Cam to help Jason keep the younger boys in line. Since the football game was a surprise and tickets were not exactly easy to get, she wondered if Jason had actually arranged for her and Franco to have some time alone after his incident at the hospital. She supposed stranger things had happened, but she couldn't think of any at the moment.

Unfortunately, their alone time had been cut short because Franco had been asked to come into the hospital for a consult on a case. Weekend calls were unusual, but not unheard of. It must have been important for anyone to call him since they were both taking some leave at the moment. Since Franco wasn't home and the boys were out, she decided to use Franco's invitation to look through his artwork while she was alone. As much as she loved her life, alone time was a rarity.

She brought the entire case downstairs and arranged the books as best as she could in chronological order. The quality of the drawings made putting the earliest books in order fairly easy.

Before Jim Harvey entered their lives, Bobby's drawings revealed a child who was inquisitive, observant, and intelligent. He drew a lot of different types of animals, cartoon characters, cars, trucks, and his family. His interests were absolutely normal, perhaps broader, than a typical young child's.

Then there was the teddy bear. Elizabeth continued to look through the work post-teddy bear. A man who had not been in any of the earlier pictures was depicted far too often. Somehow, even at a young age, Bobby had managed to convey the man's evil nature. Phallic imagery began appearing and Elizabeth just felt heartbroken. Bobby presented himself as very sad and very afraid. There was one where Jim Harvey was on the far right side. Andy was on the far left. Bobby was in the middle, facing Harvey and he had a dog that was bigger than he was that was trying to protect the boys. She wondered if the dog represented a specific something or somebody or did Bobby just wish he had a protector?

He started using a lot of red and black in his colored work. Some pages were just entirely covered in black marker or crayon. She thought he might have covered up whatever he had originally drawn which was disturbing in itself. Bobby was either angry or ashamed of whatever he had drawn.

Betsy was portrayed as a blind woman with dark glasses and a cane. Elizabeth was consistently surprised at the symbolism a young child was putting into his work. She felt sick, sad, and completely disgusted when she came across pictures that depicted Harvey in acts of abuse. She had to turn those pages quickly whenever she came across another one. She better understood Franco's reaction to the teddy bear. It really had opened the door to hell for him.

Andy had disappeared from the images. She found herself staring at one. A child was asleep in his bed and a gigantic phantom like hand was floating over the bed and pulling on the edge of the blanket. She shook her head, thinking about Bobby going to bed every night afraid of the hand uncovering him.

She was relieved that not every picture was related to his home situation. He continued to draw animals, houses, bridges, people she didn't know, and places she didn't recognize. He had started doing some abstract things with shapes or splashes of color. But, as he got older, he also started drawing guns, knives, and other weapons. He drew himself dismembered in a pool of blood. Based on the date of the picture, he had been about eight years old. He drew himself hanging from a rope on a tree. He drew himself with his throat slit, bleeding. He was eight years old and thinking of ways to die. That was like Aiden contemplating suicide. Elizabeth's heart ached.

She was overwhelmed and had to put the box away. She kept thinking about Bobby at Aiden's age. She hoped and prayed that her boys never had any reason to contemplate suicide. She was glad she had gone through the books alone. Given Franco's reaction to the teddy bear, the depictions of abusive acts would have been too much for him to endure. She certainly didn't want him to be reminded that he wanted to die when he was just a child either, especially after the attempt he had recently made. She wondered if these were the kinds of memories Ryan was digging up and getting him to share in detail. She understood that Ryan was a sociopath and he had no empathy, but she bristled at the idea of of Ryan pushing for details and even wanting to recreate scenarios. He was running a neck and neck competition with Jim Harvey as the most disgusting individual she had ever encountered.

Elizabeth sighed and turned on the television, only to realize she wasn't missing anything by the boys almost always controlling what was on. They had 200 stations and nothing to watch. She hoped Franco would be home soon, so she decided to prepare a romantic dinner. There was another advantage of all the kids being in East Rutherford for a football game--precious alone time with her husband.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is one of those chapters that has exist to move the story along. I hope to update again soon.


	16. Chapter 16

Franco entered the art therapy room and saw Amy sitting at the back table. "I got your text," he told her. "Where's the little girl I need to see?"

Amy said nothing.

Franco realized how frightened she appeared. "Are you okay?" he asked. It was obvious that she wasn't. "What's wrong?" He approached her and was startled to see that her hands, not visible under the tabletop until he got closer, were tied to the legs of his chair.

"What the--" he started to untie her.

"I'm sorry!" Amy cried. "I'm so sorry!"

Franco felt strong arms grab him from behind and the man held a wet cloth over his face. He knew instantly that it was chloroform and he was about to lose consciousness. "Let me get home to Elizabeth," he thought just before everything went black.

When Franco regained consciousness, he realized he was still in the art therapy room. But the door was closed, most assuredly locked, and the lights were out. The windows were covered and the only light was from the glow of candles. He didn't keep candles in the room--they were against hospital policy. Flames and oxygen did not mix well.

He pretended to go unconscious again so he could think through the circumstances. Amy was still in the chair, quiet as a mouse. Ryan obviously had hurt her or threatened her life. He had managed to loosen one of the ropes and he hoped that Ryan had not noticed and Amy would find a way to overcome her terror and get free. So, somehow Ryan had gotten into the hospital and done something to Amy to force her to send the text. She wasn't his target. He was.

Ryan was touching his face. "Wake up, sleepyhead," he practically sang.

Franco felt sick, partially from the chloroform and partially from the situation. He tried to move very slightly and found that he was bound and imobile too, only it was not rope. His arms were securely fastened to the armrests of an office chair with some kind of metal. That complicated things.

Ryan stroked his neck and pushed his head back so he would have to look into Ryan's face. He cringed at the contact, but he pushed away the feelings it triggered. "I thought it was about time for you to wake up," Ryan told him.

Before Franco could respond, Ryan's hand was over his mouth. "I could have gagged you, but I'm playing nice. So you're going to be nice to me too and you're not going to say a word. Isn't that right? You know how to be a good boy and stay very, very quiet, don't you Bobby?"

Franco swallowed and nodded his head. He realized the worst thing at the moment was not knowing Ryan's intentions, so he had to figure out what he wanted.

"The little blonde is your friend, right?"

He nodded. He heard Amy start to cry.

"She's my insurane policy." Ryan was callous. "We're all locked up tight as a drum in a room that no one ever really uses on a Sunday." As himself, Ryan's intonation was much different that Kevin's. He spoke more quickly and a bit higher pitched. "I'm sure you and I can take care of things and I won't have to hurt Amy. So, what do you say we put the room to use?" he asked, hands on his hips. "Well," he asked.

Franco looked him right in the eyes. He was not going to speak until Ryan gave him permission. He knew that was part of the game. It was Uncle Jim's game and Ryan was playing the part.

"Cat got your tongue?" Ryan asked. He laghed as he forced Franco to open his mouth. "Nope, It's still there."

Franco spit on the floor. His expression darkened and he felt something he had not felt in a long time--pure rage was filling his gut. He exhaled through his nose as Ryan continued to laugh.

"Bobby. Bobby. Bobby. Bobby." Ryan repeated his childhood name, sounding more and more unhinged. "You are a smart one. You've already caught onto the rules. But, you've played before. So many people just don't know how to obey a person in authority like myself. But you do." He stood very close and continued to rant. "I don't know if you know this about me, but I have a thing for blondes. Like Litte Miss Amy over there."

Franco glanced at Amy who was positively petrified with fear. He moved his hip slightly to press against the chair. He was relieved to feel that his cell phone was still in his pocket. He didn't know how he was going to get to it, but at least he had it and it was muted because he thought he was going to be in a therapy session. He didn't have to worry about it ringing or giving a text alert. That was good. If nothing else, Elizabeth would start trying to reach him and realize something was wrong. He had to figure out exactly what Ryan's game was and beat him at it until help came from somewhere.

"Most women don't know how to obey a man. They don't know what's good for them. I once thought I loved a blonde named Felicia, but she didn't love me back. Do you know much that hurts, Bobby? To love someone who doesn't love you? Well, of course you do. Your own brother Andy left you unprotected after all you had done for him. He was an ingrate, wasn't he?"

Franco remained quiet, not allowing himself to get sucked into this mind game.

Ryan continued. "Felicia has a beautiful daughter named Maxie, recently widowed. I think I'm going to have her to make Felicia pay for spurning my advances."

Franco saw an opportunity to get to Ryan. He didn't speak, but he huffed and rolled his eyes.

"I take it you know Maxie?" Ryan asked. "Answer me, damn it, he ordered.

Franco was pleased that he got his speaking ban lifted. "Let's just say I got there first," he answered, very calmly, wanted to unnerve Ryan. He knew some of what he was dealing with now and he himself knew a few things about mind games.

"You had sex with Maxie?" Ryan looked horrified. "That never came up in our sessions."

"Why would it?" He quickly glanced at Amy while Ryan was distracted. She looked surprised about what Franco had said about Maxie.

"You son of a bitch!" Ryan slapped him.

He didn't flinch. "Actually, I'm the son of two bitches, as you well know. Heather is possibly crazier than you and Betsy was a feeble-minded loon." He was purposefully harsh about his mothers, taking into account what Kevin had confided in him about their mother. "You know what that's like. Having a crazy mother." He knew Ryan was trying to get into his head, so he was pushing back with everything he had.

"At least my mother didn't whore me out to her boyfriend to keep him around," Ryan bit back.

"Of course not," he agreed. "She whored you out to herself."

"Shut up!" Ryan became more aggressive and slapped Franco very hard. Franco did his best to hold back any kind of physical response and that seemd to make Ryan even more angry. "You're not supposed to know that."

"What was it like? Screwing your mother on command?" Franco goaded him, hoping he could get him angry enough that he would draw attention to the darkened room.

"It made me angry." His voice was like ice. "She was a blonde bitch too. I killed her. My first human kill."

"Is that why you take your rage out on women who have done nothing to hurt you? Are you trying to feel like you did when you defeated your mother's evil hold over you?"

"Yeah. I can see her in their faces and hear her in their screams," he answered. He looked at Amy. "I bet she's a real screamer."

"Don't waste your time," Franco scoffed. "Did her in the supply closet," he lied. "You come up short again."

Amy's eyes were wide at how easily Franco just conned Ryan. She realized he was doing his best to protect both of them.

Ryan turned to her. "You slut! You're all just alike."

He took out a cell phone and showed Franco a picture. "I'll just move on to this lovely lady."

"Carly Corinthos?" Franco laughed. "We were engaged. And she is a lying, cheating slut too. She's an idiot that will always go back to that slimy mobster. So she's stupid on top of being a lying slut." He kept his descriptions of women harsh, aware that Ryan hated all women, not just the blondes.

"Everyone in this town is a disgusting tramp. They deserve to die. You know they do. Why didn't you kill them?"

"If you remember your brother's notes on me, you know that without a massive tumor on my frontal lobe, I'm actually not a homicidal person. He pulled against his restraints, disappointed that they still wouldn't budge. But they were metal. What could he reasonably expect? He felt his phone vibrate silently. It was a positive sign. He had no idea how long he had been gone, having been unconscious part of the time. Elizabeth would expect him in time for dinner.

Ryan swung from angry to cold again. "No, you're a weak, pathetic excuse for a man. Not suprising given your splendid history with your dear Uncle Jim. That's why I was able to get into your head and dredge up the details to make you suffer. You'll never be reformed as long as he's in your head. You're just waiting for the right signal to snap. I almost had you." He grabbed Franco's arms tightly, which he knew would cause pain. "At least when you attempt suicide, you don't make a weak attempt. Though I have to say doing it in the middle of a hospital was pretty stupid."

"I was a moron to listen to you. I only let you in beause I had established trust with Kevin, your brother. Your brother Kevin who was trying to save you too. What did you do to him? Did you kill him too?"

"Oh, don't worry about Kevin, Bobby. He's fine. He's taking a nice long vacation at Ferncliff. As your psychiatrist, I should probably have you commited to the room next to his. Or maybe I could find you a nice roommate like Uncle Jim. How would you like that, Bobby?"

"You think calling me Bobby is going to affect me because Bobby was used and fouled by that man. What you're forgetting and what you tried to make me forget is that Bobby survived years with that bastard. Bobby protected his brother. He was a good kid that had bad things done to him. Kevin helped me see that. I should have known something was wrong when you started leading me down the opposite path. But you're subtle, I'll give you that. You were meticulous and calculating with every conversation we had."

"I'm thrilled that you recognize my genius."

"I also recognize your rage. You want to hurt someone so you can feel something other than pain. I wanted to hurt Uncle Jim, but I had blocked him out. So I started looking for Andy, even though I did't know why. I wanted my brother back. But he, or Jason actually, rejected me."

"You wanted to hurt Andy because he never had to expericence what you did," Ryan told him.

"I wanted answers. I wanted to fill the gaping hole in my life and my mind. And I couldn't control my obsessions or my impulses or my actions. Nothing seemed really real to me. I was as scared of myself as anyone was of me."

"I've been in a padded cage for 30 years and you're free. You're married. You have a good job. You help people. You have kids. Why do you deserve redemption while I am left to rot?"

"Maybe I don't deserve it at all. But what I got was 'Not guilty by reason of mental deficit.'" He answered Ryan without any emotion.

"I have a mental deficit!" Ryan raged.

"No kidding," Franco snapped.

"I shouldn't have been locked up all this time."

"Science advances, laws change, justice is reached differently with time and understanding of human behaviors and illness.” 

"My justice will be taking away everything from you that should have been mine."

"That's not justice. It's jealousy. It's futile. I have nothing that should be yours."

Ryan slapped him again.

"Are you enjoying that?" Franco asked. "Do you daydream about hurting me?" He knew the answer because Elizabeth had told him already. He was grateful for that information now. It had made him better prepared for this confrontation.

"I daydream about doing a lot of things to you," Ryan answered in a seethy tone. He made a sudden movement, and pressed his mouth to Franco's forcing his tongue inside.

Franco couldn't move to fight off the disgusting assault. He closed his eyes and started naming all the Looney Tunes characters. He had done that as a child to get his mind away from whatever Jim was doing to him. He reminded himself this was not Jim. He would not fall into that abyss, no matter how hard Ryan pushed him toward it.

Ryan finally freed him when he was out of breath. "Do you like that better than this?" Ryan slapped him again, very hard.

Again, Franco did his best to show no reaction. "You bore me," he told him. He was actually far from bored. He was worried about how far Ryan would go. "You got locked in a box because you're stupid."

Ryan was angry and started to speak, but Franco didn't give him a chance.

"You have poor Amy tied up in a chair and she's done nothing to you. You only need a hostage if you're weak and insecure. You knocked me out and have me cuffed to a chair so I can't even move. Where's the challenge in that? Maybe you're too old and too weak and out of practice. You can't control this. Even with me strapped to a chair, you can't get what you want."

"You don't know what I want."

"You want to be in control because you had no control when your mother was abusing you. She hurt you, so you think you have to avenge yourself by hurting someone else. Hurting me or Amy isn't going to make you feel better. You're just going to wind up back in that padded box. You knew the police were onto you and you could have run, taken on a new identity, and not looked back. But that obsession you have with having revenge for being wronged is going to be your downfall."

"Shut up!" Ryan snapped.

Franco kept going. "You think I wronged you because we have similiar histories and I didn't wind up in Ferncliff. My life has nothing to do with yours. You're a narcissist who thinks the world revolves around you, that everyone is focused on you. You have a genuine psychosis. I had a physical illness. The truth is, no one has given you a thought in 30 years, except your brother. Everyone had moved on and erased you from their lives. If you had let Kevin help you, you might be better now."

"Are you better now? Are you a better man?" Ryan asked.

"Absolutely," Franco answered without hesitation. "I don't intentionally hurt people. You've been sabatoging all of Kevin's patients to hurt them. It's because you're too weak to actually act out your fantasies."

"I have learned restraint."

Franco knew he was pushing Ryan very hard, but he kept going. "You have only pursued an alternate method of killing people, by subtly pushing them to commit suicide. People have read your book, or manifesto, or whatever you want to call it. I haven't, but I've been informed. It seems pretty clear why you go after unattainable women."

"Oh, you're psychoanalyzing me now?"

"My credentials as a psychiatrist are as good as yours," Franco reminded him.

"Okay, smart guy, why do I go after unattainable women?"

"You don't actually want them. You're not even attacted to women. You're mother made sure of that. I know that you wrote that you fantasized about making me play myself as Bobby to you has Jim Harvey. You want to molest a little boy, or maybe little boys. You're disgusting."

"And you're bound to a chair. Whatever are we going to do about that?"

"Not a whole hell of a lot," Franco grasped the turn in conversation for his and Amy's benefit. "You're just stupid if you think you can do anything to me or force me into any kind of submission to you. I'm not a little boy and you're old and decrepit and physics just aren't in your favor. I thought you were supposed to be smarter than this."

Ryan hit him again.

"You're kind of starting to annoy me with that."

Ryan paced around the room. He was supposed to be in control. He was supposed to make Franco finish the job he had started. "Bobby. Bobby has to be a good boy to protect Andy. Bobby will do what I want him to do so I won't hurt Andy."

Franco was very disturbed by Ryan's muttering. He forcefully blocked his memories, but he realized Ryan was speaking like he thought he was Jim. He hoped he hadn't pushed Ryan to the point that he would become more violent. He remained quiet, listening.

"Bobby has to be quiet. He knows how to be good. Betsy's not here."

Franco didn't know what to expect. He looked at Amy who was still scared to death. He made eye contact with her, looked directly at one of the shelves of supplies, back to her, then back to the shelf. She followed his eyes the second time. It was out of reach of children, but it held sharp tools that were used in sculpting, including chisels. Amy might not know how to turn one into a weapon, but he certainly could if she could get it to him. She gave him a very slight nod.

Ryan was still pacing and muttering. Franco couldn't understand what he was saying any longer. He knew nothing good could come of it when Ryan picked up one of the candles, especially with Amy and himself both unable to move. He felt genuine fear as Ryan approached him with a candle. He was somewhat relieved when Ryan held it up to him and said, "Make a wish."

Franco blew out the candle, which granted his wish at the moment beause it extinguished the flame— from that one.

"Don't make a sound," Ryan told him.

Franco nodded. Ryan had the upper hand now. His only comfort at the moment was that his phone had rang at least five times and Ryan was none the wiser. He grit his teeth to remain quiet when Ryan turned the candle upside down and let hot wax dribble over his arms. This was not wax intended for sensual play. It was hot enought to burn. He reminded himself that he had been through worse than this.

While Ryan was distracted by slowly and meticulously taking out his psychotic rage on Franco by burning him with candle after candle, Amy used it to her advantage. She had one arm free and could move enough to get her other arm free. It took a moment to get feeling back in her arms and hands. She waited for Ryan to extinguish another candle and while he was focused on Franco, she quietly got up, grabbed a handful of chisels, and narrowed those down to the sharpest one.

Franco realized Amy was moving, but he didn't dare draw attention to her. He kept eye contact with Ryan, daring him to break it. He was completely silent while Ryan let the wax burn his flesh.

Ryan didn't realize he had put himself at a disadvantage by using the candles closest to Amy because the area where she was was very dim now.

Amy didn't know she had it in her to be so assertive or decisive, but she knew exactly what to do. She rushed at Ryan and jammed the chisel as hard as she could right into her best guess as the location of his carotid artery. She guessed well.

"You bitch!" Ryan yelled, grabbing his neck as the candle he held fell to the floor and shattered. Blood was spurting from his neck all over her and Franco and pretty much everything else.

"Amy!" Franco called, "Are you okay?"

She nodded, but looked dazed. 

Ryan fell to the floor, bleeding out.

"Help!" Amy screamed. She ran to the door, but couldn't make her bloody hands work to unlock it. She screamed, "Help us!" and banged on the door. She couldn't think clearly.

Someone tried to open the door, but couldn't. Within minutes, there was a key in the lock and the door opened, letting light flood into the room. Amy looked back at the scene behind her.

Ryan was on the floor and there was a pool of blood. Franco had the marks of being hit repeatedly and wax was clinging to him, where it had cooled over his burns.

Franco closed his eyes, hoping this nightmare was over. He didn't say a word. He just tried to breathe. 

There were doctors and nurses and security guards in the room. Amy was crying hysterically and trying to tell someone what had happened.

Franco kept his eyes closed, listening to the chaos and trying to block it out at the same time. He refused to feel anything. He couldn't speak or move.

Lucas Jones was talking to him. "Don't worry, we're going to take care of both of you. I've got to get these metal things off your arm."

Franco felt one, then the other metal cuff fall off his arms. He exhaled, relieved to be free. He kept his eyes closed. He just wanted to picture himself at home with Elizabeth and their family. He just wanted peace.

 


	17. Chapter 17

Elizabeth rushed to the hospital as soon as Jordan called her and let her know that Ryan held Franco and Amy captive and attacked them. She scolded herself for not going to the hospital to check on Franco after he didn’t answer her second call or at least sent a text.

She called Jason on the way, told him what little she knew and asked if he would keep the boys that night and the next day. He volunteered to surprise them by taking them into New York City. They could find something to do. It was the second time in 24 hours that Jason had shocked her with his actions.

When Elizabeth finally got to Franco’s room, Jordan and Lucas met her and Lucas explained that he had given Franco a sedative and pain medication because he had to remove the cooled wax from the fresh burns. It involved soaking the affected areas with cold water, trying to avoid blisters, carefully removing the wax, and then treating the burns themselves. He had also given him anxiety medication because he had kept repeating that Kevin was at Ferncliff and Ryan had Amy.

“Ryan admitted where Kevin is?” Elizabeth asked, relieved that he was still alive.

“Anna and other WSB agents have gone there to get him out,” Jordan told her.  

“Is Amy okay?” Elizabeth asked.

“Pretty shaken up, but no major injuries. She was terrified by what happened, especially how it ended.”

“How did it end?” Elizabeth asked, warily.

“Amy plunged a chisel into Ryan’s neck and he bled out,” Jordan answered without any sign of emotion.

“Oh, poor Amy!” Elizabeth gasp.

“I think she saved both her and Franco’s lives. She’s a bit too rattled to talk right now.”

“What about his face?” Elizabeth asked. “How did he get beaten up so badly? He can usually take care of himself in a fight.”

“He was restrained to a chair with some metal cuffs over his arms,” Lucas answered. “Amy said Ryan kept hitting him. She was kind of babbling. She said Franco wouldn’t respond to being beaten and it just made Ryan crazier. I don’t really know. We did x-rays and there are no breaks or fractures. It’s kind of astounding actually.”

“How bad are the burns?” Elizabeth wanted to know. All she could see was the gauze protecting the flesh from contamination. He also was getting an IV of fluids.

“Mostly first degree, some blistering. As you know, burns like that over a lot of flesh are very painful, so I tried to provide as much relief as possible. I expect him to sleep through the night.” He turned to Jordan. “I really don’t think you’re going to be able to talk to either of them tonight.”

“What time do you think he’ll be awake in the morning?” Jordan asked.

“We’ll push some more medication into the IV in about six hours, which should keep him out another six. So, probably not before 8:00 at the earliest. His reaction to pain will determine further treatment."

Jordan’s phone gave her an alert. “That’s Anna,” she said. “They’re arriving with the real Kevin.”

Lucas turned to Elizabeth. “If you need anything, just let someone know. I’ll be back after I assess Kevin. I hope that since this is all one related crime, it covers me from breaking any privacy laws.”

“I’m on staff,” Elizabeth offered.

“Good point,” he said, leaving with Jordan to go check on Kevin.

Elizabeth checked the time. It was a little after 8:00. She decided to send Kiki, Drew, and Scotty a text message to tell them briefly what had happened but there was no need to come to the hospital because there was nothing anyone could do to help at this point. She wanted to have privacy for a few hours anyway.

“What did that sociopath do to you?” she sighed. “At least it’s over now. I hope. There’s too much spiraling around in that brain of yours. A person can only handle so much. I wish I could give you that OFF switch for your thoughts that you said you wished you had. You think I don’t see when that cloud comes across your face and you get lost in thought. I know you’re trying to cope with a lot of things on your own, your doubts about yourself, your questions of if you’re a good enough father,  your pain of re-living so many awful things through Ryan’s trickery. I wish you would talk to me, but I know what it’s like. Sometimes you just have to work through things by yourself. I hope you will regain the progress that Ryan took away. You are a good person, my love. You deserve to be happy. You deserve to rest easy at night.”

If anything, she was fairly confident he would rest tonight. Lucas had addressed everything that needed to be addressed and even the little bit of time he had been on the mood stabilizer, he had seemed a bit happier. Someone should have prescribed one of those a long time ago. Kevin preferred cognitive behavioral therapy to drug therapy, but some people needed to use both in conjunction with each other.

One of the nurses who was on night duty came in and brought a pillow and blanket for Elizabeth. “It’s going to be another long night,” she said with a sympathetic tone.

“Yeah, but at least we’re safe now,” Elizabeth said, taking the items. The best thing about being as tiny as she was was that she could easily crawl into Franco’s bed and lie next to him all night. Just being close to one another was what they both needed to feel secure.


	18. Chapter 18

“Does he always talk in his sleep this much?” Kiki asked. She was sitting by Franco’s side and just lightly holding his hand, just making contact.

“No, it’s the medication,” Elizabeth answered.

“He talked in his sleep when we were kids,” Drew said.

Elizabeth gave him a questioning look and he realized what he had just said.

“Wait… I actually remember that.” He was clearly shocked since he had had no memories of his previous life until now.

“What do you remember?” Elizabeth prodded.

“A pillow and blanket fort in the living room. Sleeping on the floor. We had matching pajamas,” he laughed. “Betsy took that twin thing seriously. I don’t remember what he said, but I do remember thinking he was talking to me, but then realizing he was asleep. And I teased him about it.”

“So you have an actual memory or your life as Andy?” Elizabeth remarked. “Maybe more memories are coming.”

Drew shrugged, “Maybe.” He felt hopeful though.

“He wouldn’t sleep so long or so deeply if he didn’t need the rest,” Kiki remarked, “Healing the body. Healing the soul.”

There was a knock on the door and Anna Devane came inside. She greeted everyone and asked if he was ready to make a statement.

“You know how coherent his statements are when he’s asleep,” Elizabeth reminded her with a laugh. “He’s said a few things, but nothing relevant other than ‘Kevin is in Ferncliff’ and “Ryan has Amy.’ I told him they were both safe and eventually he moved on to random things.

“Would it be in completely poor taste if I asked what?” Anna asked. “I know it’s unprofessional, but his medicated interview still makes me laugh when I think about it.”

Elizabeth smiled. “Well, you might have thought he was wide awake because he told me we were going to have a baby girl on September 17 and she weighed six pounds. I thought that was oddly specific.”

“Maybe we’ll be planning a baby shower next summer,” Anna offered.

Elizabeth didn’t answer, feeling a bit sheepish about it. “He also told Scotty--who hasn’t been here yet--that he needed to run for governor. That’s all he said that was clear, even if it didn’t make sense.”

“He mentioned Bugs Bunny,” Kiki added.

“He must be fun to live with,” Anna offered.

“You have no idea.” Elizabeth confirmed. “Best decision I ever made.”

There was another knock on the door. This time, it was Amy in a wheelchair, being escorted by Epiphany.

“Amy, I’m so glad you’re okay,” Elizabeth hugged her. “You must’ve been terrified.”

“It was awful,” Amy admitted. “Elizabeth, I need to talk to you. Can we have a few minutes alone?”

“Sure,” Elizabeth answered.

“When you’re done, I’ll get your statement,” Anna told Amy.

“Don’t let her get out of this unnecessary wheelchair,” Epiphany told Elizabeth.

“I won’t.”

After everyone left Elizabeth asked, “What do you need to talk about?”

“The statement,” Amy answered.

“What about it?”

“What if they ask me what Ryan and Franco were talking about? It was kind of… private,” she looked down, embarrassed that she knew things she shouldn’t.

“I figured,” Elizabeth responded. “Don’t worry. Ryan wrote this whole manifesto about how he was sabotaging Kevin’s patients and Franco was his favorite topic. Monica, Anna, Jordan, and I have all read it. You can tell the police whatever is true to what happened in the room. Ryan’s dead and, if anything hits the press, those details should be redacted from the statement.”

“I feel really bad,” Amy confessed.

“Why? You saved his life.”

“Well, he saved mine by going head to head with Ryan and keeping him occupied. Ryan was all crazy as hell and Franco was like a ninja throwing every negative thing back at him to make him weaker.”

“Franco’s pretty smart and resourceful,” Elizabeth told her. “If anyone could have taken on a psychotic Ryan in a mental battle, it was him.”

“I think you’re right about that. Ryan terrified me.”

 “How did he get into the hospital anyway?”

“Dressed as a contaminated waste disposal agent. He threatened to kill me and my brother if I didn’t go with him. He made me send Franco that text to come to the hospital.”

“It’s not your fault,” Elizabeth assured her. “If it hadn’t been you, it could have been anyone else that was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Amy, you were incredibly brave to go after Ryan like you did. If you hadn’t, he might have killed both of you.”

Amy looked away, bothered by that she had done. “Franco gave me the idea. He got my attention and got me to look at the supply shelves. I saw the chisels and… well, when I had the chance, I just rushed at him and stabbed him. I think Ryan thought he was the smartest person in the room, but Franco kept him occupied and annoyed so much that I was able to get free.”

Elizabeth nodded. “I’m glad you’re okay now.”

“Thanks.” Amy still appeared upset. “Elizabeth, what do I do when I see Franco again, just in regular on the job stuff?”

“Act like you’re doing regular on the job stuff. Don’t tell him you’re sorry about his childhood or anything. I promise you, he doesn’t want to revisit it on someone else’s terms.”

“What if he says something to me about it?”

“Just be honest. Respect him. Be his friend. That’s what he would do for you.”

“Thanks, Elizabeth. I didn’t want to hurt him my making a statement.”

“Elizabeth,” Franco mumbled.

“I’ll go,” Amy whispered. Elizabeth held the door open for her and then went to her husband.

“Hey, sleepyhead,” she said as he opened his eyes.

“Kevin--” he started.

“Kevin is safe here in the hospital, and so is Amy,” she assured him.

“Ryan?”

“Dead,” she replied, trying to not sound so happy about it. She ran her fingers through his hair, just to make contact. It always seemed to soothe him.

“I’m in the hospital again?” he asked.

“Yep.”

“Why do I feel so groggy?”

“Kevin burned you with extremely hot wax and the burns had to be cleaned and treated. That can be painful, so Lucas made sure you weren’t feeling any of it.”

“He’s a nice guy,” Franco said. “Is it still Sunday?”

“No, it’s Monday. The boys are actually with Jason in New York City. I told him what was going on and he agreed to keep them away from Port Charles and the news here.”

Franco’s expression gave away his surprise.

 “I don’t understand either,” Elizabeth laughed. “I guess there’s some part of him that’s not a jerk. Maybe he actually enjoys spending time with the boys every blue moon.”

Franco closed his eyes, content that his family was safe.

“Sixteen hours of sleep is enough for any one person,” Elizabeth chided him playfully. “Anna wants you to make a statement and Drew and Kiki are here to see for themselves that you’re okay.”

He sighed, not having any desire to talk to Anna. But Elizabeth had called them into the room so he could just get it over with.

“How are you feeling?” Kiki asked.

“Deja vu. Haven’t we already done this? I want to go home.”

“That’s up to Dr. Jones,” Kiki told him.

“I’m fine,” he maintained.

“Yeah, between the bruises and the burns, you look spectacular,” Drew said dryly.

“I’m glad you’re safe, though a little worse for wear,” Anna told him. “And I’m glad that menace to society is gone.”

“Amy gets all the credit. She was very brave.”

“I just need you to tell me what happened from your perspective.”

Franco wasn’t keen on reliving what had happened so he gave her the abbreviated version: Got text. Amy was tied up. Ryan knocked him out, Woke up strapped to a chair. Kept Ryan talking until Amy could get free. The end.

“How about the bruising and the burns?” Anna asked, well aware that he had left out a lot more than he hand revealed.

“He kept hitting me because he was angry. I couldn’t move to defend myself.”

“And the burns?’

“He was far past weird toward the end, talking to himself, rambling, babbling about things that I didn’t understand. I thought for a minute he was going to set me on fire, but he let me blow out the first candle and he just kept pouring it on me, trying to get me to react. But I wouldn’t. He probably wanted to torture me and then slit my throat or something, but I wouldn’t react, so he just got angrier. He wanted me to acknowledge that he was hurting me. I wouldn’t give him that power.”

“Damn,” Drew said, thinking of how hard it would be to not react to being hit and burned over and over.

“That must have been difficult to withstand,” Anna commented.

‘I’ve had practice dissociating myself from my physical body.” His answer said a lot, mainly that the topic was closed.

“Is there anything else I need to know?”

“Can’t think of a thing,” Franco answered.

“If I have further questions--”

“File them under ‘He’s dead and it doesn’t matter,’” Franco suggested in not the most polite tone. “It was nice to see you again, Anna,” he added to ease the sting. “Maybe next we should meet at the Floating Rib instead of this place.”

“Sounds good,” she nodded. “Feel better soon.” She told the others goodbye.

“Can you ask Dr. Jones when I can leave?” Franco asked Kiki.

She nodded. “I’ll try to find him.”

“Are you okay?” he asked Drew.

“Me? I’m fine.”

“Good. I don’t want you to worry about me.”

“Well, you really are pretty much stuck with me now,” Drew told him. “I actually had a memory of us, I think.”

Franco’s sour disposition changed. “Really? What do you remember?”

“Well, maybe you can tell me if it’s real: did we ever build blanket forts in the living room?”

Franco nodded, “Pretty often.”

“And we had matching pajamas?”

“We had matching wardrobes. We were twins, after all.”

“And you talked in your sleep when we were little kids?”

Franco rolled his eyes. “According to you. I never believed you, by the way. You just like teasing me.”

“No, buddy, you talk in your sleep. “

Elizabeth laughed, joyful that they were connecting as the brothers they used to be.

“Do you remember anything else?” Franco asked. There was hope in his voice. It was clear he wanted Drew to remember being his brother.

“Not yet, but maybe I will,” he offered. “I remembered that because you were talking in your sleep earlier.” He couldn’t help himself. He had to tease just a little bit.

Lucas Jones came into the room with Kiki. He was holding a mobile device and scrolling through information. He looked up and asked, “How are you feeling?”

“I want to go home.”

“But how are you feeling?”

“Like I want to go home.”

Lucas sighed and Elizabeth said her husband’s name in the tone of voice usually reserved for her children when they were being obnoxious.

“On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate the pain from the burns?”

“Four.”

“That means 7 or 8,” Elizabeth interpreted.

“Elizabeth is well versed in burn care, so I won’t take time to explain all of that to you.. I’ll prescribe something to help with pain and to speed along healing. Try to not pop any blisters. Be really careful with what you come in contact with. Use cold to tepid water until we have further evaluation. Change the gauze everyday…. And I’m explaining how to take care of your burns,” he realized. He looked back at the screen.

“We got your blood work back from the lab. Your kidney and liver function is fine. We’ll need to check again in a about three month, but if you feel sick at all, come see me for a check-up.”

Franco was confused. “What do my kidneys and liver have to do with any of this?”

“Oh, the chloroform we found in the room. Amy said Ryan used it to knock both of you out. It was a very high concentration. So, we’re being cautious because of exposure. It can cause liver or kidney damage,”

Franco looked at Elizabeth.

“It’s precautionary,” she verified.

He looked back to Lucas. “Can I go home now?”

“I’d really like to keep you here at least one more night.”

“We need to be at home for the kids. I’ll come in tomorrow for a check-up,” he offered as a compromise. “I have my very own nurse.”

Lucas sighed. “Fine. I can live with that. Elizabeth is your greatest asset.”

“You don’t have to convince me of that,” Franco reached for her hand. “Somehow I got to be the luckiest man in the world.”


	19. Chapter 19

Elizabeth and Franco were together on their couch. He was laying with his head in her lap and she traced her fingers over his face, neck, and shoulders very lightly. He said she was the best pillow. He had spent too much time in that hospital bed and just wanted to relax with her.

Elizabeth played with his hair. She loved the silky texture and how soft it was. “So, do you want to tell me what you didn’t tell Anna?”

“Nope,” he answered.

“Let me rephrase: will you tell me what you didn’t tell Anna?”

“If you want me too,” he sighed.

“I don’t want to hurt you,” Elizabeth said. “I think I can help if you don’t keep everything inside to yourself. When you do that, it eats at your self-confidence.”

He closed his eyes, because he didn’t want her to see in them what he had felt. “I felt rage. It scares me that I could be so full of anger.”

“What made you angry?”

“He kept calling me Bobby, demanding I be quiet. He was trying to play Uncle Jim’s part, I knew if I spoke before he gave me permission, something bad would happen,  but I didn’t know what. It’s how I spent too many years as it is. He touched my mouth. He kept trying to dig up the past and I wanted to hurt him. I wanted him to be scared and I wanted him to suffer.”

“That sounds pretty normal and healthy,” Elizabeth told him. “Being angry isn’t a bad thing, especially when there’s an injustice. And it’s okay to be angry when someone hurts you. You don’t have to be afraid to have normal emotions.”

“I didn’t think I still had that much anger left.”

“It wasn’t residual anger,” Elizabeth assured him. “He was manipulating you, restraining you, taunting you, touching you. The anger you felt was connected to the moment you felt it, to what Ryan did and how he did it.”

Franco listened carefully and considered what she said.

Elizabeth continued. “If I was at a traffic light and someone took the wrong cue and and hit my car, I’m sure I would be angry, especially if any of our family were in the car with me. It would be a moment. It doesn’t mean I have seething rage under the surface waiting to come out.”

He sighed. “That kind of makes sense. I think I’m afraid of anger, at least being angry for myself. Uncle Jim would switch from ‘loving’ me to being angry with me with no warning. It was chaotic. I always wondered why he was angry. I was constantly trying to avoid his anger, even though I didn’t want his brand of affection either.”

“Can you stop referring to him as ‘Uncle Jim’?” Elizabeth asked. It was something she had thought about a long time. “He wasn’t your uncle and he wasn’t your step-father. He was your abuser, your mother’s boyfriend. I think calling him ‘Uncle’ gives him a strong tie to you than he deserves and it’s something your mother made you call him to show him respect, which he doesn’t deserve.”

Franco was taken aback by what she said and thought about it carefully. “You’re really smart, Elizabeth.”

She smiled.

“So call him just Jim?”

“If you call him ‘That No Good Bastard Who Deserved to Die’ it works for me.”

Franco laughed. “We might have to shorten that title, as fitting as it is.”

Elizabeth hoped he would open up more if she mentioned Amy. “Amy said you were incredible handling Ryan. She said you were like a ninja, throwing everything he threw at you back at him with even more determination to make him crack.”

“I have Ninja skills,” Franco whispered. “I try to keep them secret.”

“Babe, Amy was pretty upset about the conversation you and Ryan had. She feels incredibly guilty about knowing about your past. She asked me what to do if they asked her about what you two said when she made her statement. She didn’t want to do anything that would hurt you.”

“She didn’t choose to be there and I had to work with what Ryan was doing. As long as she doesn’t tell everyone, it’s not something either of us could control.”

“She won’t tell anyone. I think she doesn’t know how to act around you at work.”

“Just work, like normal. I’m not that likely to just break into tears if I see her or something,” he tried to laugh.

“That’s basically what I told her,” Elizabeth said. “Did Ryan talk about that bastard very much?”

“He kept calling me Bobby. Told me I knew how to follow the rules, how to be quiet. He went off about all these women that he seems to think owe him something. He asked why I hadn’t killed all these sluts because they deserved to die. I got him rattled when I mentioned his mother abusing him. I told him I’d heard about his manifesto and how he wanted to play Jim to my Bobby. I kept telling him he was old and weak and stupid because he had to hold a hostage and knock me out and strap me to a chair. I told him I wasn’t a child and he couldn’t make me do anything. I told him he wasn’t even really attracted to women if he was writing about wanting to assault a child and that he was disgusting.”

“Good for you!” Elizabeth was proud that he had stood up for himself.

“It got weirder. He hit me over and over the whole time, but he… forcefully kissed me.” He had considered leaving that detail out, but decided he didn’t want to lie by omission.

“I’m sorry,” Elizabeth scowled, thinking of it. “That must have been awful for you.”

“I couldn’t move. I couldn’t defend myself. I’m sorry, Elizabeth. I’m sorry I let that happen.”

“Stop it!” Elizabeth exclaimed. “You didn’t let it happen. You just said you couldn’t defend yourself. You didn’t have an option. It was as much of a physical assault as every time he hit you or burned you. Tell me you understand that.”

“I guess, if I think really hard about it.”

“What happened with the burns?”

“He was crazy--babbling about Betsy not being home. He wanted to hurt me, so he kept pouring that melted wax on me. I wouldn’t let him see that it hurt, so he kept doing it. Amy got free and came at him. And he’s dead now. And we all lived happily ever after.”

“I hope you’re right. We deserve a happily ever after.”

“Is it ever going to be over?” Franco asked.

“Maybe,” Elizabeth said. She wouldn’t make an impossible promise. Her phone dinged and she saw she had a text from Jason that said, “Meet me outside.”

“I’ll be back in a few minutes,” she said. “Here, lay down on the pillow and rest.” She helped him get comfortable because moving with burns was difficult. She grabbed a blanket from the back of the couch and covered him with it. “Get cozy,” she said.

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

Elizabeth stepped outside where Jason was waiting for her near the door. The kids were all still in his black SUV. “I may have overstepped,” he started. “But let me tell you why.”

Elizabeth tilted her head, listening.

“Look, the boys, Jake, Cam, and Aiden told me about how scared and upset they were that Franco tried to commit suicide. Since you told me Ryan had assaulted him. I didn’t know what that meant, but I didn’t want the kids to think he injured himself again. So, I called Drew and asked what he knew. He refused to tell me anything until I told him why.”

“Okay,” Elizabeth nodded to encouraged to him to continue.

“So, this is where I overstepped. I told the boys Ryan hurt Franco, including beating him and burning him. I wanted them to know he didn’t hurt himself.”

Elizabeth was in shock. She spoke slowly. “That’s actually pretty considerate of you. I was going to try to explain, but coming from you maybe they’ll accept it a little more.”

“Look, I will never be friends with your husband, but the kids love him. Cam says he finally has a dad and doesn’t want to lose him. Aiden feels the same way. And, loathe as I am to admit it, Jake adores Franco and calls him his best friend.”

Elizabeth had a hard time believing these words were coming from Jason.

“So, I told them Ryan attacked Franco and he was going to beaten up and bandaged up when they saw him, but it wasn’t by his own choice.”

Elizabeth felt tears in her eyes. “Thank you for doing that for them and for us. And thank you for taking them to the game and into the city.”

“It was nothing,” Jason told her. “There are three boys in that SUV that want to see their dad.” He waived to the boys to get them out of the vehicle and they all came running.

“How’s dad?” Cam asked, “Is he okay? Is he hurt real bad?”

“He is hurt pretty badly,” Elizabeth said. “But he’ll get better. He’s going to be so happy to see you. But, please be careful. He was burned on his arms, neck, and chest.”

Jake reached for the doorknob. “Wait,” she told him. “Jason, thanks. Boys, wave goodbye to Danny.”

They did as they were told.

“Now, let’s go see dad,” she told them.


	20. Chapter 20

A couple of weeks later, Elizabeth and Franco were back at work, trying to go about their normal lives. Franco's bruises had faded and his burns had turned into slightly pink patches that he could mostly hide by just wearing a long sleeved shirt.

The first time he saw Amy at work and realized she had seen him and looked horrified, he approached her. She didn't know what to say, but he did. "Thanks for saving my life."

"Um, thanks for saving my life," she returned, not quite sure of herself.

"Can I give you a hug?" he asked her.

She didn't answer with words, but by throwing her arms around him and holding on tightly. "I'm so sorry," she whispered.

"Don't worry," Franco told her. "We did what he had to do. We made it out of there alive. I hope you're doing okay, coping. I know that it couldn't have been easy for you to... you know."

"I'm fine," she smiled. "They practically threw me party when I got back to work. They treated me like I was some kind of hero."

"You are some kind of hero. You deserve any praise you get. That was a pretty definitive move with that chisel. Remind me not to piss you off."

"You gave me the idea."

"So my power of telepathy is in working order," he joked.

"Lucky for me," she laughed.

He nodded. "I have to see a patient. I hope you have a good day."

"You too." She smiled as they went in separate directions.

Franco felt it was a good interaction. It let them both know things didn't have to be awkward between them. As he walked through the hospital, he realized things seemed pretty routine. Everyone appeared to be focused on their immediate responsibilities. Maybe, he hoped, he was no longer the psycho that worked at the hospital because Ryan had taken the title for himself.

He went to the therapy room, but left the door open. He hoped the client wouldn't mind.

Monica was waiting for him. “How are you?” she asked.

“Better than I was,” he answered. “I don’t meant to be rude, but I have a patient at 10:30.”

  
“I canceled the patient,” Monica told him.

He didn’t show any expression, but his initial reaction was to worry that she was going to fire him, having decided he was he was too unstable to work with other people.

“We need to talk. I wanted to speak to you privately.” She motioned for him to sit down.

“Did I do something wrong?” he asked.

“No,” she tried to smile. “The hospital is in trouble because of the situation with Ryan. We’re basically facing a many-plaintiff lawsuit for damages inflicted while we employed an unlicensed imposter for a therapist."

“Okay, what does that have to do with me? I haven’t filed a complaint. I can't say Scotty didn't file something on my behalf.”

“You’re the victim most victimized by Ryan. If you setted out of court, I feel like the other plaintiffs would too. Like you, they don’t especially want their reasons for being in therapy to be brought out."

“Elizabeth and I work because we want to work. I have pretty nice retirement fund that keeps growing from my artwork. We decided it was best for everyone to live a normal life, not let the boys grow up thinking they’re entitled to whatever they want.”

Monica nodded. “That’s admirable.” She wondered if her family had lived with less extravagance if they would have experienced less tragedy. “But, we need you to lead the settlement just to get this over with as quickly as possible. And, you know, you do have three boys to put through college and I hear a baby girl is coming next September.”

Franco laughed and shook his head. She had obviously heard about that from Drew. “I don’t know why I talk in my sleep when I’m heavily medicated.”

“It’s not uncommon,” Monica smiled. “I didn’t mean to embarrass you. Drew told me he had a real memory of your childhood together because he remembered you talking in your sleep as a kid.”

“I think he’s making it up,” Franco responded, forever certain that Drew just liked to tease him. “Whatever I need to do, I just want to close this chapter of my life as soon as possible. Move on to the next one.”

“Thank you,” Monica said. “I am so sorry this all happened to you. Whether you believe it or not, you should be compensated. And I know money can’t heal emotional scars. But it can make life easier.”

Franco shrugged. “I just want to move on.”

Much to his surprise, Monica leaned over and kissed his forehead before she left. “Thank you for being such a good brother to Drew, for everything you did for him. He couldn’t have had a better brother or friend.”

He was still reeling from that shock when Kevin knocked on his door. He was back at work and healthy too. “Don’t shoot. I’m Kevin,” he tried to crack a joke.

Franco motioned for Kevin to come in. “Man, I really should have figured out Ryan was Ryan. I’m sorry.”

“Franco, you tend to think you have responsibilities that don’t actually fall on your shoulders. No one else knew Ryan was alive. Why would you reach that conclusion?”

“Dude’s crazy,” Franco answered. “And you seemed off, to say the least.”

Kevin nodded. “I hoped I could help him, that he could be rehabilitated. But he had a true psychosis. That’s where you’re different. You had a medical condition. You were not psychotic. You were ill.”

“I’m still something,” Franco replied, frustrated.

“You have PTSD, some depression, anxiety, are a bit paranoid, have abandonment issues, have a difficult time forming healthy attachments, and none of those things are helped by having high intelligence.”

Franco frowned at the list. “Are you sure that covers it?”

“Like I said before, you think you have responsibilities you don’t. Like a Superman complex. This whole spiral in your life started because you understood more than a typical child would have about Jim Harvey’s intentions. You took on that responsibility, the anxiety, the burden. You had to save your brother. You think you should have saved me. You even tried to save Liesl Obrecht from going so far that she couldn’t come back.”

“So, basically, you’re saying….”

“Free therapy for life as long as you can get over me having Ryan’s face.”

Franco laughed. “Well, I can’t pass up an offer like that. How about I trade you an original piece of art? It might be worth something someday. I already have an idea… showing the shattered mind through… well, I’m not going to spoil the surprise.”

“I would be honored,” Kevin smiled. “I am so sorry that Ryan manipulated you.”

“Maybe we should put easily manipulated on that list of those 34 other problems you said I have.”

“We’ll see,” Kevin laughed. He extended his arm and they shook hands and he left.

Franco saw that it was close to lunchtime, so he went to find his wife. He swept Elizabeth into a kiss as soon as he saw her.

Elizabeth never minded having her charting interrupted like that. “I missed you,” she said.

“Lunch?” he asked.

“Kelly’s sounds better than the cafeteria,” she answered.

“Kelly’s it is,” he responded.

“How’s your morning?” he asked her.

“Pretty routine. How about yours?”

“Anything but. I’ll tell you all about it over a Philly cheesesteak and some fries.”

They walked toward the elevator. “Hey, Elizabeth.”

“What, babe?”

“I love you. You’re my everything.”

“What’s got you sappy today?” she smiled, reveling in how he never let the romance stop.

“I’m happy to be alive, to be with you, and to know that Amy, Kevin, and all the patients Ryan tried to manipulate are going to be just fine. Oh, and I saw Kevin. I still get free therapy for life.”

“No offense, my love, but you’ll probably need it,” Elizabeth laughed and kissed him as the elevator door shut in front of them.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone who read this and expressed that you enjoyed it. I appreciate each comment! I hope the Friz drought on the screen will be over soon!!


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